JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinian militants in stepped-up operations across the occupied West Bank on Tuesday following the killing of three Israelis near a Jewish settlement a day earlier, the Israeli military said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said an 18-year-old was killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike in Tamun, a town northeast of Nablus city, while a 40-year-old was shot dead in the nearby village of Taluza.
The Israeli military said that after a clash with militants in the Tamun area, its war planes struck and killed two fighters. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA also reported a second Palestinian killed in a strike in Tamun.
The Israeli military said a third militant was killed in a firefight in Taluza and several were arrested in various incidents. Hamas’ armed al-Qassam Brigades confirmed the man killed in Taluza was one of its fighters.
One Israeli soldier was severely wounded during an exchange of gunfire and was evacuated to hospital, the militaty said.
WAFA meanwhile reported revenge attacks by Jewish settlers, who it said had set fire to a vehicle overnight and attacked a Palestinian village.
Violence in the West Bank has intensified in parallel with the 15-month-long war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with killings by Palestinian militants, increased Israeli military raids and airstrikes, and a rise in attacks by Jewish settlers.
Hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed.
In the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian Authority security forces have been carrying out an operation against local armed militant groups for the past month as Palestinian factions have also clashed.
The bloodshed poses another obstacle for international mediators trying to seal a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal in Gaza before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Following the killing of three Israelis on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met senior military and security officials. He approved a series of “offensive and defensive actions” in the West Bank as well as measures to capture those who killed the Israelis.
WAFA said the Israeli military was setting up more checkpoints and road closures, and conducting increased incursions and raids.
The West Bank has been occupied since it was captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Palestinians want it to be part of a future independent state, but expanding Jewish settlements and the Gaza war have complicated the situation amid fears that Israel plans to formally annex the territory.
(Reporting by Maytaal Angel and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
