Israel kills 3 Palestinians in another violent incident in the West Bank

Rebel groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad condemned the killings, though it is not immediately known if the three men belonged to either organization. Israel identified the group’s leader as 26-year-old Naif Abu Tsuik, stating that he was a “major military operator” of the camp.

The Jenin camp is known as a militia stronghold. Last month, the army carried out a two-day offensive on the site, killing 12 Palestinians, including at least eight militants, and causing widespread damage in the densely populated area. An Israeli soldier was also killed in the fighting.

But the offensive appears to have done little to stem a broader wave of violence that began in early 2022 and has gathered momentum since Israel’s new hardline government took power in December. The government is dominated by ultranationalist settler leaders from the West Bank and other allies with close ties to the settler movement. A growing number of Israeli voices claim that their presence in the government has made the situation worse by emboldening militant young settlers to attack Palestinians.

The Israeli news site Ynet reported on Sunday that Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, recently warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that acts of violence committed by settlers were becoming a strategic threat and increasing the likelihood of retaliatory Palestinian attacks. The report drew angry condemnations from top members of the government.

The report notes that Bar issued his warning ahead of an incident Friday night in which armed settlers stormed a Palestinian village, killing a 19-year-old boy. On Saturday, a Palestinian gunman shot and killed an Israeli security guard in downtown Tel Aviv before another guard shot the assailant.