Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh calls for revenge following Nablus killings

The head of the political bureau of Gaza-based group Hamas has vowed revenge after Israeli police killed three Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus earlier this week.

Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday offered his condolences to the families of the three men who were killed in an Israeli police operation and said the "blood of the martyrs" will not be shed without consequences.

He condemned Israel for conducting assassinations and said that their operations will not deter Palestinians from carrying out "acts of resistance". 

He added that the killings should be a trigger for the Palestinian Authority to end its security cooperation with Israel.

An Israeli special forces unit on Tuesday shot and killed three Palestinians in the Al-Makhfieh neighbourhood of Nablus. They were later identified as Ashraf Mubaslat, Adham Mabrouka, and Mohammad Dakhil.

Israeli police claimed the men were "armed terrorists" who were killed during clashes with officers in the occupied West Bank city. Palestinians protested against the killings, decrying them as assassinations.

Thousands of Palestinians took part in the funeral on Tuesday.

A general strike was declared on Wednesday in the West Bank in a show of mourning. Shops and businesses were reportedly shut down, and universities announced classes would be suspended.