The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned the horrific crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces in the Palestinian city of Nablus. Following the recent Israeli military aggression against Gaza Strip, three Palestinian citizens were killed, and dozens were injured. The OIC called on the international community to intervene to put an end to these ongoing Israeli crimes and provide international protection for the Palestinian people. The Israeli army has killed at least three Palestinian fighters and wounded four others while firing live ammunition during a raid in Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials. The Israeli army and intelligence service said in a statement that the men were behind a attack on April 7 north of Jericho that killed two British-Israeli sisters when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle. Their mother also later died of her wounds. Hamas, which is governing the besieged Gaza Strip, said the three men who were killed on Thursday were members of its armed wing. Hamas, in its statement, claimed responsibility for the attack near Jericho that killed Rina and Maia Dee, and their mother Lucy, residents of the illegal settlement of Efrat, south of Jerusalem. More than half a million Israelis live in some 200 settlements built on Palestinian land considered illegal under international laws. The British-Israelis had been on a "family outing" during the Passover holiday, according to a statement issued by the council of Efrat, the Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank where they lived. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al Jazeera that "the occupation is completely delusional that by committing its crime in Nablus, it will stop the resistance in the West Bank." The Al Qassam Brigade, the armed wing of Hamas, identified the men killed on Thursday as Hassan Qatanani, Muath al-Masri, and Ibrahim Jaber. The brigade called them "heroes of the Jordan Valley operation that was carried out about a month ago, in which three settlers were killed, in response to the occupation's crimes against Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the assault on Muslim women." As the funerals of the three men were held, political factions in Nablus went on a general strike on Thursday in response to the raid. The Palestinian Red Crescent said four people were transferred to hospital for treatment and at least 150 people, including schoolchildren, suffered tear gas inhalation The raid followed an exchange of cross-border strikes between Israel and Gaza earlier in the week and more than a year of intensifying violence that has seen repeated Israeli raids in the West Bank as well as a series of attacks by Palestinians on Israelis. Locals in Nablus said large numbers of Israeli troops, including undercover units, raided the Old City as residents were starting the day. The soldiers surrounded one house and exchanged fire with the Palestinian fighters inside, they said. "So many men from the city have been killed," a man who identified himself only as Kareem for fear of reprisals told the Associated Press news agency. "We are used to these raids. That's the story of life in Nablus." Reporting from the city, Al Jazeera's Nida Ibrahim said there was "a tense mood". "We've heard chants of defiance at the funerals and vows to retaliate," she said. — SPA/Agencies
