Introduction

At least three Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Surge of Violence in the West Bank

The three victims are the latest deaths in a surge of violence in the occupied territory since early last year.

\”Three Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bullets in Nablus,\” the ministry said, adding the identities of those killed in the northern West Bank city were still unknown.

Palestine TV showed footage of a military vehicle blocking access to the area of the incident, including to an ambulance, as soldiers appeared to carry out an inspection.

The Israeli army confirmed the deaths and claimed that they came under fire in a Nablus neighborhood and the troops fired back.

In a separate incident, at least 13 Palestinians were injured when the Israeli army raided a camp in the occupied West Bank earlier Monday.

Four citizens were injured by Israeli bullets, while nine others received shrapnels during the Israeli forces’ aggression in the Nur Shams camp in Tulkarem, the ministry said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent stated that the Israeli army prevented its crew from entering the camp to deal with the injuries.

\”An ambulance that was on its way to transport a child was blocked, and the crew was detained and forced to take off their bulletproof clothing,\” the NGO said.

An eyewitness told Anadolu that the Israeli army withdrew from the camp after damaging the infrastructure.

\”The main street in the camp has been completely destroyed. There is widespread destruction of infrastructure and a number of cars were also damaged,\” the eyewitness said.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967.

Since early last year, the territory has seen a string of attacks by Palestinians on Israeli targets, as well as violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities.

Violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this year has killed at least 201 Palestinians, 27 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on both sides.

The West Bank is home to nearly 3 million Palestinians, as well as around 490,000 Israeli settlers considered illegal under international law.