West Bank: Israel Drone Strike Kills Three Palestinians

Facts

• According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security service, an Israeli drone attack on Wednesday evening killed three Palestinian terror suspects near Jenin in the northern West Bank.¹
• The targeted killings, allegedly the first since 2006, were reportedly the culmination of a joint military intelligence operation. The targets had reportedly been responsible for several shooting attacks on Jewish settlements.²
• The trio includes the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group's 27-year-old field commander, a 17-year-old fighter of its militant branch al-Quds Brigade, and a 28-year-old leader of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. The three belonged to PIJ's cross-faction Jenin Brigade.³
• The IDF and Shin Bet said that the drone strike was carried out on the gunmen's vehicle after they opened fire at Jalameh Checkpoint, adjacent to Jalamah. Their corpses, and three assault rifles reportedly found in their car, were seized by Israeli security forces.⁴
• Wednesday's strike comes amid mounting violence in the West Bank this week, after the IDF killed six Palestinians in a raid in Jenin, two Hamas gunmen killed four Israeli civilians near the settlement of Eli, and settlers torched houses and cars in the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya.⁵
• At least 170 Palestinians, 25 Israelis, a Ukrainian, and an Italian have been killed in incidents linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so far this year, including civilians as well as combatants.⁶

Sources: ¹Haaretz, ²Al Jazeera, ³CNN, ⁴The Times of Israel, ⁵Axios, and ⁶France 24.

Narratives

• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. Wednesday's drone strike marks a dangerous escalation on the Israeli side, as the occupation army has realized it can't deal with the force of the Palestinian armed resistance on the ground. But make no mistake, the use of air strikes for targeted killings and settler rampages will only harden the resolve of the Palestinian people to fight back.
• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. This drone strike was ordered to swiftly neutralize the Palestinian terror cell carrying out a shooting attack, and the action was only taken because the cell had previously escaped after past shootings. While unusual in the West Bank, such operations have been authorized when gunmen pose imminent threats to Israeli troops amid a significant rise in shooting attacks and massive gunfire in the northern West Bank.

Predictions