An Israeli special forces unit killed three Palestinians on the morning of 9 March in the town of Jaba, south of the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

“Israeli special forces infiltrated the town and opened fire on a Hyundai vehicle in the Al-Fwara area of ​​Jaba, killing the three young men inside,” Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted eyewitnesses to have said.

The victims were 26-year-old Sufyan Fakhoury, 25-year-old Nayef Malayshah, and 22-year-old Ahmad Fashafsha. They were leaders of the Jaba Battalion of the Jenin Brigade, a branch of the Gaza-based Al-Quds Brigade, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement.

According to a statement released by the Jaba Battalion, resistance fighters confronted the Israeli troops with gunfire and explosive devices upon entering the town of Jaba. They also managed to shoot down an Israeli drone.

“The crimes of the occupation and its targeting of the fighters of the Al-Quds Brigades and our battalions in the West Bank will not deter us from proceeding on the path of jihad and resistance, and our jihad will continue until … the occupation is defeated,” the Jaba Battalion’s statement read.

Over the past two years, the West Bank city of Jenin has become a highly significant bastion of Palestinian resistance against Israel.

The killings coincided with Israeli raids in the West Bank town of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, which resulted in the injury of a Palestinian who was transferred to Ibn Sina Hospital. Additionally, one Palestinian child, 14-year-old Waleed Nassar, died after succumbing to the wounds he sustained in an Israeli raid in Jenin on 7 March.

In a statement, the Palestinian Authority (PA) condemned “occupation’s terrorism” and escalation in Jaba and Al-Yamoun, and denounced the lack of “international reactions and double standards.” The PA and its security forces are known to have close security ties with Israel and regularly suppress resistance activity on its behalf.

Israeli troops launched a violent raid in the Jenin refugee camp two days ago, killing and injuring several. Among the dead were two resistance fighters, including Hamas commander Abdel Fattah Hussein Kharousha, who was besieged in a home in the camp, which was targeted by missiles launched by an Israeli helicopter.

During the raid, resistance fighters shot down two Israeli drones.

Palestinian resistance downed two Israeli drones over Jenin, occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/ooS31dptm7

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) March 7, 2023

The night before, settlers under the protection of Israeli troops stormed the West Bank town of Huwara, south of Nablus, for a second time in ten days. The first settler rampage in Huwara on 26 February resulted in the killing of one Palestinian, the injuring of at least 390, and the torching of dozens of Palestinian homes and vehicles.

As Ramadan approaches, tensions are expected to ignite even further, as Israel is known to step up harsh security measures during the holy month.