The number of West Bank martyrs rose to 4 after the death of a young man succumbed to being shot by the Israeli occupation during clashes in the Bab al-Zawiya area of Hebron in the southern West Bank, while Tel Aviv confirmed the continuation of operations in all areas of the West Bank and its readiness to repeat the Gaza scenario.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that the martyr, Moamen Jaber, aged 16, was shot directly in the heart.
Tension hangs over large areas in the West Bank after the Israeli occupation forces assassinated the leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Nablus and his two companions.
While the Palestinian presidency warned that the occupation was approaching a comprehensive confrontation with the entire Palestinian people, Hamas saw that the conflict with Israel had entered a new stage, and that it was escalating day by day.
For its part, the Islamic Jihad Movement said that what happened in Nablus will make its resistance more firm and certain to continue fighting the occupation and confronting it, and will not discourage the Palestinian people from continuing their jihad from Gaza to Nablus, as it put it.
Sabri Saidam, a member of the Central Committee of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), said that the Israeli escalation in Gaza has increased cohesion and unity among the Palestinians, and that he expects decisions in this direction soon.
Saidam added in a previous publication to Al-Jazeera that the electoral campaign in Israel started from Gaza, and now it is moving to Nablus, pointing out that Israel avoids invading Palestinian cities for fear of street war and attrition.
Targeting Nabulsi and his companions
The events began when large Israeli forces reinforced with special units stormed - at dawn on Tuesday, the eastern lane in the old city of Nablus. This was followed by the siege of a house based on information from Israeli intelligence that arrived at night, indicating that the Palestinian leader Ibrahim al-Nabulsi and his companions were holed up inside the house.
Then the Israeli special forces demanded that Nabulsi surrender, but he refused, and an audio recording of him was published recommending his comrades to continue the resistance and not to leave the arms.
This was followed by the outbreak of clashes for several hours between the three resistance fighters and the occupation forces, which used a shoulder-launched missile to target Ibrahim al-Nabulsi's house.
During the confrontations, the Israeli occupation forces prevented ambulance crews from reaching the areas near the house, and fired at an ambulance.
The operation ended with the Israeli occupation forces announcing the assassination of 3 Palestinians, Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, Islam Sabbouh and Hussein Jamal Taha, all of whom were leaders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades affiliated with the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah).
Nabulsi was a member of the recently formed "Nablus Brigade", an alliance of Palestinian militants in the city that also includes militants from the Islamic Resistance Movements (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad.
The martyr Nabulsi is considered one of the most wanted persons by the Israeli occupation army, and he had survived several assassinations launched by the occupation forces.
Israel threatens
On the other hand, the Israeli Minister of Internal Security and military officials confirmed the continuation of operations in all areas of the West Bank and their readiness to repeat the Gaza scenario.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz vowed to eliminate anyone who leads a terrorist organization that threatens Israel, as he put it.
In interviews with the Ynet website of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper and the official Kan TV channel, Gantz denied the Israeli government's pledge to release those he described as terrorists within the framework of the recent ceasefire announcement with Islamic Jihad.
Gantz said that the latest military operation called "The Truthful Dawn" was carried out in an excellent manner and strengthened the Israeli deterrence in the face of Hamas, he said, adding that the pressure on Gaza must be used to recover the sons, in reference to the captured soldiers of Hamas.
For his part, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, expressed the international organization's "grave" concern about the escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank.
Dujarric stressed that the Secretary-General of the United Nations calls for calm and the conduct of independent and transparent investigations into the dead and injured.