JERUSALEM, June 21 ― Israeli forces arrested three people today in a Palestinian village which the military said was home to assailants who killed four Jews near a settlement in the occupied West Bank.
The army said Israeli forces detained three “wanted people” in Orif village in the northern West Bank.
The arrests comes after gunmen targeted Jews near Eli settlement yesterday, killing four and wounding four others.
Multiple Israeli officials were unable to confirm their nationalities when contacted by AFP, while local media reported all of those killed were Israeli.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War and the territory, excluding east Jerusalem, is now home to around 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements considered illegal under international law.
One of the attackers was shot at the scene by a civilian, while Israeli forces subsequently killed a second assailant who fled the scene.
The military said Wednesday that its forces had entered Orif to “map the homes” of the shooters, a precursor to their demolition.
Israel routinely demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks, arguing that such measures act as a deterrent while critics say it amounts to collective punishment.
The shooting near Eli settlement came a day after Israeli forces launched a raid on the West Bank city of Jenin, in which seven Palestinians were killed including a militant from Islamic Jihad.
The latest casualty was a 15-year-old girl who died of her wounds after being shot by Israeli forces during the incursion, the Palestinian health ministry said Wednesday.
Separately on Monday, Israeli troops killed a member of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, near Bethlehem in the West Bank, who the army accused of throwing Molotov cocktails. ― AFP
