Three People Killed In Israeli Drone Attack On West Bank, IDF: We Remove Threats

Illustration of Israeli Hermes Elbit drone. (Wikimedia Commons/Ronite)

JAKARTA - An Israeli drone killed three gunmen in the West Bank on Wednesday, in a rare attack, hours after Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian cities, setting fire to cars and buildings in retaliation for attacks by Hamas armed groups the day before.

The attack near Jenin City comes amid a spike in violence over the past few days in the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli military (IDF) routinely conducts sweeps and causes clashes with Palestinian fighters repeatedly.

Prior to the attack, the IDF said it identified a militant squad in a vehicle, after shooting near the city of Jalamah.

A statement by the Islamic Jihad militant group said two of the men were fighters of Islamic Jihad. While the third is the armed wing of the Syuhada Aqsa Brigade from the Fatah Group.

Although reconnaissance drones are commonplace, the attack by the Elbit Hermes drone, which follows the use of war helicopters that rarely occur in operations in Jenin, was the first by the Israeli military in the West Bank since 2006, the IDF said.

"It's about eliminating threats - we identified a vehicle that shot at the intersection and removed the threat," IDF spokesman Daniel kazi said in a tweet.

Hours earlier, Israeli settlers went berserk in Palestinian cities in the West Bank, in retaliation for the killing of four Israelis by Hamas gunmen who opened fire on a roadside restaurant near Eli's settlement.

In Turmus Ayya, a prosperous town near Ramallah, footage shows cars burning with thick clouds of black smoke circling over and people carrying people injured into ambulances.

"They tried to enter the yard, they set fire to the car, they started shooting at the house with live ammunition and stones and they damaged the balcony," said a resident named Noman Shalab.

The IDF said its troops had entered Turmus Ayya to extinguish the fire, prevent clashes and said Israeli civilians had fled the city.

"We will not accept any provocations to police or security forces at these places or anywhere else," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Separately, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned acts of violence against civilians, "including acts of terror," UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement.

"It is very important to reduce tensions and prevent further escalation. Israel, as the Power of Population, must ensure that civilians are protected from all acts of violence, and perpetrators are held accountable," Haq said.

It is known, about 174 Palestinians have been killed since the start of this year. Most of them are militants, but some of them are civilians. On the other hand, 24 Israelis and one foreign national were killed in attacks by Palestinians in the West Bank, around Jerusalem and in several Israeli cities.