The Palestinian Authority expressed outrage on Tuesday at the elimination of three terrorists during and IDF operation in the Shechem (Nablus) area.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman for Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, called the incident "the murder of three young men" and a "war crime".
In a statement, Abu Rudeineh said that "the continuation of the daily killings, the invasion of Palestinian cities, the attack on the holy places of Islam and Christianity, the settlement, the annexation plans and the racist expansion and other Israeli crimes, will never subjugate our (Palestinian) people and will not bring security and stability to anyone, because the only way to establish peace and security is to give the Palestinian people their legitimate rights that were approved by the international legal institutions."
The Israeli government, he continued, will alone bear the consequences of "the aggression and crimes committed by the occupation forces or the terror of the settlers".
The statement came hours after IDF soldiers neutralized three terrorists who opened fire at them from a vehicle in the vicinity of Shechem.
The incident occurred when a vehicle containing three armed terrorists arrived at HaShomronim neighborhood in Shechem and opened fire towards IDF soldiers who were conducting routine activities in the area.
The soldiers opened fire and neutralized the terrorists.
The soldiers also located and confiscated three M-16, a gun, cartridges, and military equipment.
No IDF injuries were reported.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, officially announced that the three terrorists were members of the organization and one of them was a commander of the group.