Nablus has witnessed repeated raids by Israeli forces over the past year
Israeli security forces say they have killed two Palestinian activists accused of shooting a British Israeli woman and her two daughters in the occupied West Bank last month.
A third militant who allegedly helped the two was killed during the raid in Nablus.
A number of Palestinians were also injured in clashes with the forces.
Lucy Dee, 48, and her two daughters, Rina, 15, and Maya, 20, were killed in an attack in the Jordan Valley on April 7.
They were traveling to an event marking Passover when gunmen opened fire on their car near the settlement of Hamra, 16 kilometers (10 miles) west of Nablus.
Their car crashed and the gunmen fired again at close range.
Rina and Maya died at the scene, while Lucy died in hospital three days later.
In the early morning raid Thursday in Nablus, more than 200 Israeli soldiers raided the Old City, using shoulder-fired and anti-tank missiles and stun grenades fired from drones.
Residents said explosions took place as people were getting ready to go to work and clashes erupted in the streets.
Palestinian medics said that Israeli forces prevented them from reaching the scene by firing rubber bullets at them.
The Israeli army said that the forces targeted an apartment where “Lea’s killers” were staying. [Lucy’s Hebrew name]And Maya and Rena de “were hiding.
It identified them as Hassan al-Qatanani and Moaz al-Masri and said they were members of the Palestinian Hamas movement.
The IDF added that the two men were killed in an exchange of fire with a senior Hamas operative who helped them escape from the site of an attack last month, identifying him as Ibrahim Jabr. She added that three assault rifles were found inside the apartment.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that three Palestinians were killed, but it was not immediately able to identify two of them due to the seriousness of their injuries.
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, later confirmed that al-Qatanani, al-Masri and Jaber belonged to the movement and that they were behind the attack that killed Lucy Dee and her daughters.
Mourners raised green Hamas flags at the men’s funeral, which was attended by hundreds.
Lucy (left) died three days after the shooting that killed her daughters, Rina (center) and Maya D.
Lucy’s husband, Rabbi Leo Dee, said in a statement that he and their three surviving children were “really relieved to hear that Israeli security forces have eliminated the Iranian-funded terrorists responsible for the deaths of Lucy, Maya, and Rina.”
“This was done in a way that does not endanger the lives of Israeli soldiers or innocent Palestinian civilians,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised its security forces for showing that the attackers would eventually be found and “pay the price”.
“Our message to those who hurt us and who wants to harm us is that whether it takes a day, a week or a month – you can be sure that we will settle scores with you,” he said.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh condemned the bloody raid in Nablus and said he holds the Israeli government responsible for “these crimes against the Palestinian people,” according to the Wafa news agency.
Central Nablus has become a stronghold of the Assad group, and has seen repeated raids by Israeli forces over the past year, killing civilians and militants, as the wave of deadly Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis continues.
In a separate incident Thursday in southern Nablus, a Palestinian woman stabbed and lightly injured an Israeli soldier in the village of Hawara, according to the Israeli army. She added that the woman was then “neutralised” by the soldier and a second was nearby.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that the woman, whom she named as Iman Odeh, was shot in the chest and died of her wounds after being taken to hospital.
Since the beginning of this year, Israeli forces have killed more than 100 Palestinians – armed and civilians. Eighteen Israelis, Ukrainians, and Italians—all civilians, except for a paramilitary border police officer—have also been killed in attacks by Palestinians, and in one case, an Israeli Arab.
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