The shootout came a day after a ceasefire ended three days of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip
Israeli police said security forces encircled the home of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, who they say was wanted for a string of shootings in the West Bank earlier this year. They confirmed that al-Nabulsi and another Palestinian militant were killed in a shootout at the scene, and that troops found arms and explosives in his home.
The armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade, later claimed the three as its members and vowed retaliation. The Fatah party said the organization “mourns its martyred sons” and said the three had “sacrificed their lives in defence of our great people and their right to freedom and independence.”
During the three days of Gaza fighting, at least 46 Palestinians were killed, including 16 children and four women, and 311 were wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Twelve of those killed were Islamic Jihad militants, one was from a smaller armed group, and two were Hamas-affiliated policemen who were not taking part in the fighting, according to the armed factions.
Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Abbas, warned that continued violence could further ignite the region, and accused the Israeli government of shedding Palestinian blood to secure internal political capital ahead of November parliamentary elections.