Three young Palestinians killed in Nablus 'bloodbath'

Three young Palestinians have been killed in "cold blood" by Israeli forces in the hills above the West Bank city of Nablus early on Tuesday. 

The three young men, whose identities are not yet known, were shot in their car on Mount Jerezim and their bodies were taken away by Israeli forces. 

Eyewitnesses said they saw Israeli ambulances come and remove the three boys to an unknown location, while medical crews from the Palestinian Red Crescent said they were denied access to the scene. 

قناة كان العبرية:
قتل الجيش الإسرائيلي صباح اليوم ثلاثة فلسطينيين عند مدخل حي السامري قرب نابلس حيث وصلوا إلى المكان بسيارة ونزل منها أحدهم وأطلق النار على جنود الكتيبة 603 ثم تم تصفيتهم، وتم العثور على أسلحة M16 وسترات عسكرية في السيارة. pic.twitter.com/pQ0cvDQ9r5

— العَرِيـنْ𓂆. (@Areen165) July 25, 2023

"Our access was blocked completely by tens of soldiers and military machinery and a security cordon. We couldn’t even see the car," said their statement. 

Israeli forces claimed the group initiated a firefight with occupation soldiers - though no evidence has been supplied to substantiate this claim. 

Locals told The New Arab's Arabic language site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that soldiers had fired relentless and indiscriminate volleys towards the vehicle for several minutes. 

"A vehicle with three armed terrorists arrived in the Samaritan village and opened fire at IDF soldiers who were on defensive activities in the area," said a statement on Twitter.

הכוחות איתרו והחרימו שלושה נשקים מסוג M-16, אקדח, מחסניות וציוד צבאי.
אין נפגעים לכוחותינו pic.twitter.com/HWGsZMEqIP

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 25, 2023

The army claimed they recovered "three M-16 weapons, a pistol, cartridges and military equipment", but this claim could not be independently verified. 

The bloodbath came just days after yet another wave of violence and arrests hit Nablus, including the injury of a 13-year-old boy on Monday, who was held incommunicado for several hours.

Israeli forces also shot at a medic's feet while he was on duty in Askar refugee camp to the east of the city on Monday

Israeli raids on Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank have killed more than 200 Palestinians since the beginning of the year.