Three armed Palestinians shot in northern West Bank

Three armed Palestinians were shot dead near Nablus in the northern West Bank after they opened fire on an Israeli military position on Sunday, Israeli military said.

The exchange of fire took place in the Surra-Jit area, in an area under Israeli security control, west of Nablus. Residents of Surra told the France-Presse news agency (AFP) that they heard gunshots around 03:30 (01:30 in Lisbon).

Palestinian medical sources said the dead were not admitted to the Nablus mortuary, suggesting the Israeli army was in possession of the bodies.

“Attackers opened fire on soldiers [israelitas] at a military post adjacent to the Jit crossing,” the Israeli army said in a statement.

“Soldiers […] returned fire with live ammunition” and “three attackers were neutralized”, a fourth surrendered and is being detained for questioning, added the army, whose spokesman confirmed to AFP that the three neutralized attackers were Palestinians and had been killed.

No Israeli soldiers were injured, he said.

Palestinian security sources told AFP they did not yet have information about this incident.

Since the beginning of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 81 Palestinians, 13 Israelis and a Ukrainian woman, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli and Palestinian sources.