Israel thwarts terrorist attack

Israeli forces killed three Palestinian terrorists near a village close to the volatile West Bank city of Jenin on Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, without giving details.

According to residents quoted by Palestinian radio, Israeli forces also raided the village of Jaba, south of Jenin, surrounding a house where there was an exchange of fire and one person was arrested before the Israeli force withdrew.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military but Security Minister Itamar Ben-Givr issued a statement confirming the three dead and hailing the “precise action and the elimination of those who opened fire on our fighters”. It later transpired that the Israeli special forces, who where in the area to conduct counterterrorism raids and arrests, came under fire from the car the three Palestinians were in, responding with lethal fire. They had ready-made bombs and arms.

Hamas radio said the Israeli forces targeted a group it called the Jaba Brigade and killed its leader.

The operation came days after Israeli forces raided a refugee camp in Jenin and killed six Palestinian terrorists , including the Hamas gunman who killed two settlers in the West Bank on Feb. 26.

The Palestinian health ministry said a 14 year-old boy, wounded during the gunbattle that broke out in Jenin during the Israeli raid, had died of his wounds.

Source: israel hayom