Israel has acknowledged that three Palestinians were murdered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during a claimed "terror cell thwarting operation."

The three men were "armed rebels" who were "killed during skirmishes with security troops," according to Israel's Border Police. Earlier on Tuesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced in a statement that three Palestinian men were killed by Israeli soldiers in the al-Makhfeya neighbourhood of Nablus, according to media reports.

In a second statement, Israel's Shin Bet security organisation said that the three Palestinians slain were responsible for multiple recent gunfire assaults against the Israel Defense Soldiers and Israeli citizens, adding that no Israeli forces were injured.

"Those who attack us will be harmed," Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted. On the other hand, Palestine's cabinet called on the UN, human rights organisations and international law organisations to "condemn the dreadful crime and act," as its cabinet called on the UN, human rights organisations, and international law organisations to "condemn the awful crime and act."

The three men are members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a military section of the Fatah organisation led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and "heroic martyrs," according to a statement released by the group. In the West Bank, there has been an uptick in Jewish settlers' violence against Palestinians and Palestinian property in recent weeks, as well as Palestinian attacks against Israeli police and settlers.

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