Israel says it killed 3 suspects in murders of UK-Israeli women
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People inspect the damaged house where Israeli forces killed three Palestinians in a raid, in the Old City of Nablus.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
NABLUS, Palestinian Territories - Israel said its security forces shot dead three Palestinians blamed for killing a British-Israeli woman and her two daughters in April, in a raid on Thursday in the occupied West Bank.
Two suspects in the killings and a third man accused of helping them were killed in a joint operation in Nablus by the army, police and Shin Bet security service, a statement said.
The three men were identified as the “murderers of Leah, Maia and Rina Dee”, who died after the April 7 attack on their vehicle near Hamra in the Jordan Valley, Shin Bet said, using their Hebrew names.
The army said troops recovered two M-16 rifles and an AK-47 from the apartment where the suspects were holed up.
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said all three men were from its ranks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the successful conclusion of the weeks-long manhunt for the women’s killers.
“We settled accounts with the murderers of Lucy, Maia and Rina Dee,” he said in a statement.
“Our message to those who harm us, and those who want to harm us, is that whether it takes a day, a week or a month – you can be certain that we will settle accounts with you.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that three people were killed in the morning raid in Nablus’ Old City.
“Two of the martyrs have completely distorted features due to the intensity of the shooting, which makes it difficult to identify them,” the ministry said.
An AFP correspondent heard gunfire erupt near the Old City at around 7am (12pm Singapore time) as dozens of Israeli army vehicles swooped in from multiple directions.
Widower Leo Dee said in a statement he was “comforted” to hear of the men’s deaths, and added that he had “asked for the opportunity to speak with the terrorists’ families”.
Hamas described the killing of the three Palestinians as an “assassination” of the “heroes of resistance in the city of Nablus”.
The raid came just days after violence flared along the Gaza border following the death of a Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli custody on Tuesday.
Palestinian militants fired more than 100 rockets from Gaza in response to the death of Khader Adnan, 45, a leading figure in Islamic Jihad in the occupied West Bank, who died in prison following an 87-day hunger strike.
The latest deadly raid brings to 105 the number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so far in 2023.
The raid came just days after violence flared along the Gaza border following the death of a Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli custody on Tuesday.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
A total of 19 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP count based on official sources from the two sides.
These figures include combatants as well as civilians, and, on the Israeli side, include three members of the Arab minority. AFP
