An Israeli soldier is seen at the area where the regime’s forces killed a young Palestinian girl after they opened random fire on two vehicles near the occupied West Bank city of al-Quds, on January 7, 2024. (via Reuters)

Israeli forces have killed three Palestinians, including a four-year-old girl, after opening indiscriminate fire on civilians at a checkpoint northwest of the occupied West Bank city of al-Quds.

Eyewitnesses told Palestinian media that Israeli forces opened fire randomly at people after a car incident, which they claimed was a ramming attack, took place at the Beit Iksa military checkpoint on Sunday.

As a result, the Palestinian girl, identified as Ruqaya Ahmed Odeh Jahaleen, was shot along with a Palestinian man and his wife.

Eyewitnesses told WAFA news agency that Israeli forces shot two vehicles that were passing through the checkpoint, hitting the Palestinian man who was driving his vehicle and was accompanied by his wife. In addition, the four-year-old girl, who was in another car, was also fatally shot.

A few minutes later, local sources confirmed the death of the girl and young couple, who hailed from the neighboring town of Biddu.

Following the killings, Israeli forces completely sealed off the checkpoint, preventing Palestinian ambulances from transferring the victims to hospital.

The occupied West Bank has been facing growing Israeli aggression after the regime started its genocidal war against the besieged Gaza Strip on October 7. Since then, more than 332 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers across the West Bank, while at least 5,600 people have been arrested and more than 3,000 injured.

Islamic Jihad: Israel waging campaign of extermination against Palestinians

Later in the day, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad issued a statement in reaction to the new Israeli crime in the West Bank.

The Gaza Strip-based resistance movement described the killing of the Palestinian couple and the child as a new field execution crime, which has been added to Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians.

This crime and others like it are evidence that the occupation is waging a campaign of extermination, ethnic cleansing, and displacement against our people throughout the entire land of Palestine, the Islamic Jihad added.

The movement also called on all Palestinians to respond to Israel’s numerous crimes by intensifying their resistance in order to thwart the regime’s plans against them.