4 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike in West Bank

By Aysar Alais

ISTANBUL (AA) – Four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday in the West Bank city of Jenin, a local official said.

Jenin Governor Kamel Abu Al Rub told Anadolu that the four were killed in a strike targeting a vehicle in the village of Sir, south of the city.

He said that the bodies of the four youths had been seized by the Israeli army, providing no details about their identities.

Witnesses said plumes of smoke were rising from the village about the strike.

An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed in an aircraft struck what he called "armed operatives" in the Jenin area.

Israel’s Army Radio reported that the airstrike targeted four Palestinian fighters who had been under surveillance by security forces for some time.

Tension has been running high in the West Bank due to Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 44,400 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack in October last year.

More than 801 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 6,600 others injured by the Israeli army in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi