ISRAELI occupation forces have killed three Palestinians who were alleged to be resistance fighters in the northern West Bank.

The Hamas and Islamic Jihad resistance groups both condemned the killings, which took place on Sunday near the Jenin refugee camp, but neither claimed the men as members.

The Israeli army alleged that the three had been killed as they were on their way to carry out an attack.

It identified the leader of the group as Naif Abu Tsuik, claiming that he was a “leading military operative” from the refugee camp.

The latest killings come as an increasing number of voices are criticising the senior roles given to ultra-nationalist West Bank settler leaders in what is widely regarded as the most right-wing government in Israel’s history.

Critics say their presence in the government has increased tensions by emboldening young militant settlers to launch attacks on Palestinians.

Israeli news site Ynet reported on Sunday that Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, had recently warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that settler violence was becoming a strategic threat and raising the chances of Palestinian attacks in retaliation. 

Mr Bar’s warning, which reportedly drew angry condemnations from leading government ministers, coincided with a new report from the Palestinian Wall and Settlements Resistance Commissions saying that Israeli occupation forces and zionist settlers had carried out nearly 900 attacks on Palestinians and their holy sites last month. 

Most of the 897 attacks were carried out in the occupied Jerusalem, where there were 148, followed by Nablus with 140 and Hebron with 113, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.

The commission also pointed out that Israeli settlers had conducted 202 attacks in various parts of the West Bank, but mainly in Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron.