Special forces from the Israeli occupation army assassinated three Palestinian Resistance fighters on Sunday afternoon after shooting at their vehicle near the town of Arraba, south of Jenin in the West Bank.

The occupation forces shut down the area after targeting the Resistance fighters and prevented ambulance crews from reaching the Palestinian vehicle, while large military reinforcements arrived at the scene.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health revealed that the General Authority of Civil Affairs announced the death of three young men, shot by the Israeli occupation, near the town of Arraba in Jenin.

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Israeli media reported that a military force from the "Yamam" occupation army unit assassinated the three resistance fighters, as the occupation claimed that it thwarted "an operation that the cell intended to carry out."

Pictures of the vehicle targeted by the occupation were published by Israeli media, as well as a picture of an M16 weapon, which the occupation army claimed to have found inside the vehicle.

'Strong response' awaits occupation

The IOF, Border Guard, and the Shin Bet issued a joint statement, announcing that the occupation forces had managed to "target a cell that was on its way to carry out an operation."

The occupation's statement added that "the targeted cell" was led by Nayef Abu Sweis (26 years old), a resident of the Jenin camp, and also claimed that he was "one of the leaders of the Jenin battalion and that he participated in operations against the army forces, based on orders by elements in the Gaza Strip."

The occupation forces towed away the targeted Palestinian vehicle and confiscated the bodies of the murdered martyrs.

Scenes of the occupation forces shooting at the vehicle circulated, in addition to the circulated photos of the vehicle, and the three young men who were targeted with dozens of bullets, one of them being a minor. 

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The spokesperson for the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, Tariq Salmi, confirmed that the crime committed by the occupation in Jenin is an aggression against the entire Palestinian people, stressing that the Israeli enemy will soon realize that its follies and terror will be met with a strong response from the resistance, noting that Al-Quds Brigades never wastes the blood of its fighters and leaders.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a press statement that the occupation would pay for its crimes and that the Palestinian people and their Resistance would not let this pass without a response.

In an issued statement, the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement mourned the three martyrs, describing them as heroes "who were martyred as a result of the cowardly assassination operation, carried out by the occupation forces in Jenin, revolution, and redemption."

The Palestinian Freedom Movement issued a brief statement, in which it said, "The occupation's assassination of our people and its resistance fighters are crimes that reflect the extent of its fascism," adding that these crimes will not undermine the determination of the Palestinian people and their valiant resistance.

Fatah movement spokesperson Munther al-Hayek mourned the victims, saying their deaths came about  because of a "cowardly assassination operation carried out by the government of murder and terror in front of a silent world."

Earlier, Israeli media claimed that one Israeli security guard was killed in a shooting operation in the "Nachalat Binyamin" neighborhood in "Tel Aviv" that was allegedly carried out by 22-year-old Palestinian Kamel Abu Bakr from the town of Rummanah, near Jenin.