3 Palestinians killed as Israel stages large-scale raid in West Bank stronghold of militants

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military sent a large-scale raid into a stronghold of militants in the occupied West Bank early Monday, and local health officials said at least three Palestinians were killed.

Israeli forces raided what the military described as a “unified command center” for militants in the Jenin refugee camp, describing it as “an advanced observation and reconnaissance center” where militants would gather to coordinate and prepare for attacks.

Israeli media said the military also conducted airstrikes, reviving a tactic it had largely halted during the past two decades, after a Palestinian uprising against Israel's open-ended occupation slowly fizzled.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said three Palestinians were killed and 13 injured early Monday, three of them critically.

In a separate incident, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the ministry said.

The Jenin camp and an adjacent town of the same name have been a flashpoint as Israeli-Palestinian violence escalated since the spring of 2022. Monday's raid came two weeks after another violent confrontation in Jenin.

Monday’s deaths bring the death toll of Palestinians killed this year in the West Bank to 131, part of more than a yearlong spike in violence in that area that has seen some of the worst bloodshed in nearly two decades.

The outburst of violence was sparked last year after a spate of Palestinian attacks, which prompted Israel to step up its raids in the West Bank.

Israel says the raids are meant to beat back militancy. The Palestinians see the intensifying Israeli military presence in the area as an entrenchment of Israel’s 56-year open-ended occupation of the territory.

Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and also people not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.

Palestinian attacks since the start of this year have killed 24 people.The outburst of violence was sparked last year after a spate of Palestinian attacks, which prompted Israel to step up its raids in the West Bank.