PA President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting in Ramallah, in the West Bank August 18, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/Pool

JNS.org – Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday hailed as “martyrs” the two terrorists killed on July 23 in a shootout with Israeli forces in Nablus, according to Israeli media reports.

“We are all mourning. That is our destiny and we can’t escape it. We must make sacrifices for the homeland,” Abbas told the fathers of the deceased in a phone call, Channel 12 reported. “Your son[s] will reach heaven together with the other martyrs,” he added.

The Palestinian gunmen were killed during a battle that erupted during an Israeli counter-terror raid, Israel Police said. The casualties were identified by the PA’s official WAFA news agency as Mohammad Bashar Azizi, 25, and Abderrahman Jamal Soboh, 28.

The main target of the raid, Ibrahim Nabulsi, a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, managed to escape, and was later seen at the funerals of the two dead gunmen, according to Channel 12.

Israeli media reported on Monday that the terror cell targeted in the Nablus raid had been planning additional attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid addressed the incident in his opening remarks to Sunday’s cabinet session, praising the performance of Israel’s security forces.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces early Tuesday morning demolished the homes of the two Palestinian terrorists — Yahyah Maree and Yousef A’ssi — who on April 29 murdered security guard Vyacheslav Golev at the entrance of the city of Ariel in Samaria, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

During Tuesday’s IDF operation, hundreds of Palestinians began rioting, hurling rocks and fire bombs at Israeli soldiers and burning tires, according to the military.

Israeli security personnel conducted additional counter-terrorism raids throughout Judea and Samaria, apprehending 10 suspects in total, the statement said.