Border Guard kills 3 Islamic Jihad members near Jenin
Armed Palestinians clash with Israeli force conducting arrests in village near West Bank city. IDF says one of killed men was wanted by security forces. Jihad members fire two Qassam rockets at Israel in response to incident; no injuries reported
Several hours later, organization members fired two Qassam rockets at Israel. One of the rockets landed near the border fence, while the other fell in an open area north of the southern town of Sderot. There were no reports of injuries or damage in both incidents.
Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip reported that the al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's military wing, claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, saying it was a response to the incident with the Border Guard in Jenin.
According to the Palestinian report, the incident occurred during exchanges of fire between a large force and Palestinian gunmen in the village.
The IDF said that Palestinians opened fire at the officers, who were disguised as Arabs, while they were conducting routine arrests. The force fired back, hitting three armed Palestinians. There were no injuries among the Border Guard officers.
According to the Palestinian, a large force entered the village and the exchanges of fire took place in the nearby groves.
The three Palestinians killed in the incident were identified as members of the al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's military wing: Khaled Darwish, Ahmed Ziyud and Mahdi Abu al-Heir.
Military sources confirmed that the killed Palestinians were Islamic Jihad members and that one of them had been wanted by security forces for a long period of time. The Palestinians said that Abu al-Heir was the senior member of the three.
Efrat Weiss and Tova Dadon contributed to the report
