Three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army raid in a West bank refugee camp early on Monday, Palestinian health officials said, while the Biden administration sharply condemned Israel’s latest act of settlement expansion.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the three men were killed during a raid in Balata, a refugee camp near the city of Nablus. Six people were wounded, including one who was in critical condition, the ministry said.
The UK Independent reported the army to have confirmed that soldiers had raided Balata; it said troops came under fire and killed three Palestinians. Israel has stepped up raids in response to a spate of Palestinian attacks and said Monday’s operations netted weapons and an explosives manufacturing operation in a home, which it detonated.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration issued a sharply worded statement on Sunday criticizing Israel for moving to reestablish settlers at the formerly evacuated outpost of Homesh in northern West Bank.
In March, the Israeli government repealed a 2005 act that dismantled four West Bank settlements. Over the weekend, the top Israeli army general in the West Bank signed an order attaching Homesh to a local settler regional council — a move paving the way for reconstruction of the outpost.