Taghribnews (TNA) - Hamas censures Israeli regime over killing Palestinian youths

The Palestinian Authority (PA) and resistance movement Hamas have slammed Israeli regime over the "cowardly assassination" of three young men in the West Bank.

This came after Israel's occupation forces shot dead three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Saturday amid the escalation of Israeli violence in the Palestinian territories.

“As we mourn our fighters, who were assassinated in a cowardly Israeli assassination, we affirm that the Israeli assassination policy will never provide security or legitimacy to the occupation,” Hamas said in a statement on Saturday, the Palestinian Information Center reported.

“Such crimes will only strengthen our people's will and determination in defense of our land and holy sites,” it added.

Israeli forces assassinated the trio by opening fire on their vehicle near the city of Jenin in northern West Bank.

Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad—another Gaza-based resistance movement—identified the victims as its members, naming them as Saeb Abhera, 30, Khalil Tawalbeh, 24, and Saif Abu Libdeh, 25.

In another development on Saturday, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman for PA’s President Mahmoud Abbas, called the assassinations “a threat and a flagrant challenge to international legitimacy and international law.”

The Israeli occupation forces must stop all these dangerous practices, which threaten security, stability, and calm, he added.

“While many parties are seeking to de-escalate tensions during the holy month of Ramadan ... Israel carries out this premediated attack, which led to the killing of three civilians at predawn today in Jenin,” Abu Rudeineh said.

The Palestinian official stressed that the Israeli regime has to bear the consequences of “this dangerous escalation, whose repercussions will be dire and dangerous for everyone and the entire region,” adding, “The only way to achieve security is to compel Israel to abide by the resolutions of international legitimacy and not take any unilateral measures.”

“We also call on the international community to provide international protection for the Palestinian people and not to allow double standards,” added the spokesman.

Meanwhile, The PA's Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh also joined the chorus of condemnation, calling the killings “extrajudicial murder” and a “horrific crime.”

The premier called on the occupying regime to stop committing crimes and violations against the Palestinian people, respond to their legitimate rights to freedom and independence, end its occupation of Palestinian territories, and allow Palestinians to establish their independent state with the holy city of al-Quds as its capital.