By Qais Abu Samra
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA): The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Saturday condemned the Israeli killing of three Palestinians in the West Bank, warning that the Israeli escalation risks to explode the situation in the region.
“The dangerous Israeli escalation, which coincided today with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, is strongly rejected and condemned, and it would explode the situation,” PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said in a statement cited by the state news agency Wafa.
He slammed the Israeli actions as constituting “a flagrant challenge to international legitimacy and international law.”
Abu Rudeina called on Tel Aviv to “stop all these dangerous practices” which threaten security and stability, noting that Jewish extremists still continue to storm the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound hence “creating an atmosphere of tension.”
Israel’s domestic intelligence service Shin Bet said early Saturday that three Palestinians were killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces near the city of Jenin. Shin Bet said in a statement published by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that four Israeli soldiers were also injured, including one seriously.
An official with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society told Anadolu Agency that Israeli forces seized the bodies of the three dead Palestinians.
For his part, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh described the killings as a “crime” and called on the International Criminal Court to hold accountable those responsible.
In a statement, Shtayyeh called on Israeli leaders to “stop committing crimes and violations against the Palestinian people, respond to their legitimate rights to freedom and independence, end the occupation and establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, confirmed the death of the three, saying they were group members.
It identified the three as Saeb Abhara, 30, Khalil Tawalbeh, 24, and Saif Abu Libdeh, 25, saying they died as a result of “a treacherous Zionist assassination”.
*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara
[Photo: A relative mourning during the funeral ceremony of Palestinian Sand Abu Atiyye, 17, and Yazid al-Saadi, 23, who were killed on Israeli forces’ raid in Jenin, on March 31, 2022 in Jenin, West Bank. Photographer: Nedal Eshtayah/AA]
