Three Palestinian men, two of them accused of killing a mother and her two daughters last month in the Jordan Valley, were killed Thursday morning in the West Bank city of Nablus, in fire exchange with Israeli troops.
A joint statement issued by the Shin Bet, Israel Police and the Israel Defense Forces said that Israeli troops entered Nablus to apprehend Hamas operatives Hassan Qatnani and Ma’ad Masri, who are accused of carrying out the April 7 attack that killed Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia and Rina. The statement said that both men were killed in fire exchange with the troops, as well as a third Palestinian man — Ibrahim Jabar — who is thought to have helped the two escape the scene of the Jordan Valley attack.
The Hamas-affiliated Safa news agency reported that Masri, Qatnani and Jabar were members of the organization’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. According to the outlet, Masri and Qatnani carried out the Jordan valley attack and Jabar helped them hide following the incident. Masri and Qatnani are from the Askar refugee camp in Nablus and Qatnani spent two and a half years in an Israeli prison. The three were killed in Jabar’s home.
According to Ynet, 200 Israeli troops entered Nablus on Thursday morning. They surrounded a house where the suspects were believed to be hiding and came under heavy fire from within the building. Palestinian militants then gathered in the area and threw stones at the troops. The report read that the troops dropped stun grenades using a drone in an attempt to flush the suspects out of hiding. After the fighting, several assault rifles were seized at the scene.
The Palestinian Red Cross reported that four men were injured and taken to a nearby hospital, and 10 others were injured and treated on site. The Red Cross also said that more than 150 people including students at a nearby school were affected by fumes from the stun grenades.
According to the Times of Israel, an unnamed IDF Central Command officer addressed the time lapse between the attack and the operation. The officer said, “It is important for us to make it clear to the other side that there are no cities of refuge anywhere in [the West Bank]. Even places that they apparently think are safe are not.” He also noted that there has been an uptick in alerts of potential attacks in recent weeks.
Palestinian Presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the incident in a statement carried by the Palestinian Authority’s WAFA news agency. “We hold the Israeli occupation government fully responsible for this escalation policy that is pushing things toward violence,” he said. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
Tensions increased earlier this week between Israel and the Palestinians after the Tuesday morning death of imprisoned Islamic Jihad member Khader Adnan 87 days into a hunger strike. In reaction to Adnan’s death, Islamic Jihad fired 104 rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israel. After the rocket fire, the IDF struck 16 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets. Early Wednesday morning, Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations.
The Palestinian Al-Quds newspaper reported Wednesday evening that the Biden administration is planning a meeting of representatives from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan and the United States to take place in Egypt. The report read that the Palestinians have confirmed they will participate in the meeting, which will address security issues to prevent further escalation in the region. Two similar meetings took place prior to the holy month of Ramadan, the first in Aqaba, Jordan, on Feb. 26, and the second at Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt, on March 20.
