Israeli troops shoot dead three Palestinians in Jenin ambush

Israeli troops killed three Palestinians on Thursday in another deadly raid in Jenin, Palestinian health officials said, as violence surges in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces have made near-daily assaults across the occupied territory in recent months, killing, injuring and arresting dozens of Palestinians. 

The Palestinian health ministry said three people were killed "by bullets from the Israeli occupation during its aggression in Jenin at dawn today".

lsraeli occupation forces raid Jenin camp, kill three Palestinians and detain a number of others at dawn. pic.twitter.com/RDg0bveOCQ

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) December 8, 2022

The Israeli military said troops entered Jenin to detain people "suspected of involvement in terrorist activity", claiming clashes broke out.

The military did not respond to AFP's request for comment on allegations that soldiers fired on an ambulance transporting one of the wounded.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group said its fighters were engaged in "fierce clashes" with Israeli forces in Jenin.

Jenin's Ibn Sina hospital identified the dead as Atta Shalabi, Sidqi Zakarneh and Tariq Damej.

The Israeli army said it had carried out multiple operations across the West Bank overnight to arrest wanted suspects in cities including Bethlehem and Ramallah.

Palestinian towns and cities in the West Bank are only nominally under the control of the Palestinian Authority and its security forces. 

A surge in bloodshed this year has seen more than 200 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, making it the deadliest year for Palestinians in nearly two decades. 

The toll includes more than 40 Palestinians killed during Israeli operations in the Jenin area, among them children as young as 12 and veteran Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh as well as militants.

The situation has alarmed the international community.

The European Union said Saturday it was "greatly concerned about the increasing level of violence".

A US State Department spokesman called "for all parties to do everything in their power to de-escalate the situation".

Israel has illegally occupied the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, since the Six-Day War of 1967.