Three Palestinians were killed on Sunday in the northern part of the West Bank, including a member of an armed group who died during an attack by the Israeli army, according to converging sources.

The new deaths come amid a sharp escalation in violence in the occupied Palestinian territory following Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel and the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said yesterday that tension in the West Bank, including attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians, is the “real obstacle” to a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In Tulkarem, two men, 19 and 36 years old, were killed by bullets during an attack by Israeli forces on the refugee camp, one of the largest in the area, the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Health announced.

At least five other people were injured in the operation, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported.

The Israeli army, for its part, announced that its forces went to arrest Mohammed Wafi, who, according to him, was suspected of “participating in attacks against Israeli forces and killings of people who allegedly collaborated with them in Tulkarem.”

“Terrorists opened fire and threw explosives at Israeli forces, who retaliated,” killing the suspect, who was “armed,” according to the same source, who added that an Israeli police officer was “seriously wounded” and is being treated in a hospital.

In a press release, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades — the military arm of Fatah, the movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas — praised the “sacrifice” of the two men and clarified that Mohammed Wafi was a member of them.

Asked by AFP, Isam Wafi said his brother Mohammed was a “proud member of the resistance” and that he “fought for almost an hour and a half” with Israeli forces before he was killed.

Another Palestinian was killed by Israeli forces during an incident at a checkpoint near Nablus, about 35 km from Tulkarem, the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry said.

The Israeli armed forces confirmed in a statement that they “neutralized” a man who “got out of his car, headed towards the (Israeli) soldiers and continued to move towards them without responding” when they demanded he stop and give his details.

Fatah, the main faction of the Palestinian Authority, denounced in a statement the death of the man, a member of its security services, who according to it was “murdered in cold blood”.

After October 7, the Israeli army multiplied its operations, which are practically daily, in the West Bank. Its stated goal is to dismantle networks linked to Hamas and other Palestinian armed organizations.

At least 398 Palestinians have since been killed in the West Bank, either by the army or armed Israeli settlers, according to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry.

In 2023, the United Nations recorded 507 Palestinian deaths in the West Bank. It was the highest number since systematic data on violence in the occupied Palestinian territory began in 2005.

Israeli military authorities announced Friday that they have arrested 3,100 Palestinians since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, including 1,350 they say are members of Hamas.

The Israeli army has occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the Six Day War in 1967.

Almost three million Palestinians live in the West Bank today, including some 490,000 Israeli settlers, in settlements that the UN considers illegal under international law. The Palestinians believe that this area should be the heart of their future independent state.