Three members of the Lions’ Den terrorist group were killed and two other Palestinians were wounded by shots fired by Israeli forces near the Palestinian town of Sarra, west of Nablus on Sunday morning, after shots were fired at IDF soldiers nearby.
Palestinians at the scene told Palestinian media that they heard heavy gunfire before seeing Israeli forces surrounding the terrorists’ vehicle. A fourth individual was arrested. The two wounded Palestinians were workers who were nearby and were hit by shrapnel.
According to the IDF, the Palestinians in the vehicle shot at an IDF post near the Jit junction. A patrol from the Golani Brigade, which was operating in the area, responded by shooting at the armed men, hitting three of them. The fourth turned himself in and was arrested. No Israelis were injured.
The Lions’ Den stated that members of the group were monitoring the soldiers and attempted to ambush them, leading to the clash. The group warned that “the series of revenge operations continues, and now you only have to prepare for a new wave of our signature operations of our lone wolves in the Lions’ Den.”
he Palestinians killed in the clashes were identified as Jihad Muhammad al-Shami, 24, Uday Othman al-Shami, 22, and Muhammad Raed al-Dabeek, 18. The arrested Palestinian was identified as Ibrahim al-Awartani.
Three M-16 rifles, a pistol and magazines were confiscated by the IDF.
The magazines featured photos of Palestinian terrorists killed in recent months in armed clashes with Israeli forces.
Last Thursday, three members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist movement were killed in a firefight with Israeli forces in Jaba, near Jenin.
Tariq Ezzedine, a spokesman for PIJ, called the deaths of the three Palestinians “a new heinous crime recorded in the record of the usurping occupation.”
“We affirm that these Zionist crimes against our people and their resistance prove every day that the terrorist occupation government declares total war on our people and uses all the heinous methods that require a response to it in all ways and means,” said Ezzedine, warning that Israel “bears responsibility.”
Soldiers and Border Police officers were operating in the area to arrest Palestinians suspected of terrorist activity when the three began firing on the Israeli forces from within a vehicle nearby. The Israeli forces fired back and killed the three.
In the car, Israeli forces found firearms and explosives. Photos from the scene showed the logo of the Islamic Jihad movement on objects in the vehicle after the raid.