In a phone call on Wednesday, Ismail Haniyeh expressed his condolences to the bereaved families of the victims and praised their heroism.
Assassination is a failed policy and it will not be able to stop the resistance of the Palestinian people, Haniyeh said, adding that the martyrs’ blood will not go in vain.
Hamas and all Palestinian resistance groups feel a responsibility to revenge for the blood of those killed by the Israeli forces in the treacherous assassination operation, Haniyeh emphasized.
The Hamas official said the blood of the martyrs is a clear invitation for the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority to end its security cooperation with the Israeli enemy.
The three youths were assassinated by Israeli Special Forces in the al-Makhfeya neighborhood of the city of Nablus.
WAFA news agency reported that the Israeli forces came to the neighborhood with an unmarked civilian vehicle bearing a Palestinian number plate. The Israeli forces then started shooting at another vehicle that was moving nearby.
Three of the youths in the car were killed and a fourth was taken away.
The killings triggered a new wave of anger among the Palestinians and sparked condemnations from all Palestinian factions as well as Muslim countries.
Thousands of Palestinians responded to a call by Hamas to join the funeral ceremonies en masse. Protests were also held across the West Bank against the crime, with the participants vowing revenge.
Meanwhile, news sources reported that the Palestinian resistance forces destroyed an Israeli patrol on the Gaza border on Wednesday night.
According to Israeli media, fighters from Al-Qassam Brigades and Al-Quds Brigades crossed a barbed wire fence inside Gaza and set an Israeli construction vehicle ablaze.
The Palestinian fighters successfully returned to Gaza after the operation.
The Palestinian resistance forces’ move came in response to the assassination of the three youths in Nablus.
