Israeli forces kill four Palestinians in West Bank raid
In the latest deadly raid on Jenin, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians, including a teenager, on Thursday.
Dozens of masked, heavily armed men fired into the air as they paraded through the streets for the funerals of the four dead, including two identified as militants by Palestinian groups and the Israeli army.
The Israeli army initially said troops "neutralised" two suspected militants in the northern West Bank city, accusing them of "terrorist activities".
According to an army spokesperson, "armed gunmen fired at the forces, and the forces responded with live fire."
Before the train crash, my daughter was studying for her master's degree in the United Kingdom.
"One of those killed was neutralized after attempting to attack the forces with a crowbar," according to the report.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, 23 other people were injured in the raid, five of them seriously.
Omar Awadin, 16, Luay al-Zughair, 37, Nidal Khazim, 28, and Youssef Shreem, 29, were among those killed, according to the report.
Islamic Jihad claimed Khazim as a member, and Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed Shreem as a member. According to the Israeli statement, they were both members of Islamic Jihad.
In a statement, Islamic Jihad said Israel "will pay the price for these crimes".
- 'Violent Cycle' - Mahmoud al-Saadi of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Jenin told AFP that "an Israeli undercover unit stormed the city centre's Abu Bakr street".
The raid comes just days before a meeting between Palestinian and Israeli officials in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday to discuss lowering tensions ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the Israeli-blocked Gaza Strip, called the latest raid a "crime" and warned that it would not go unpunished.
Israeli forces have launched numerous raids on the city of Jenin and its eponymous refugee camp in recent months targeting Palestinian militants.
These raids have killed more than 20 Palestinians since the start of the year.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967.
The United Nations decried “another example of the alarming cycle of violence”, with a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging “the international community to redouble its efforts to find an end to this cycle of violence.”
Sinan Majali, spokesman for the Jordanian foreign ministry, called for a “immediate stop of the escalation” and stressed “the need to protect Palestinian cities from these repeated and continuous assaults”.
Since the start of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 85 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians.
Thirteen Israeli adults and children, including members of the security forces and civilians, and one Ukrainian civilian have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.
On Tuesday, a senior Hamas official warned Israel his group would react to any possible “violations” at Jerusalem’s holy sites during Ramadan, which begins later in March.
Saleh al-Aruri, deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, said the risk of escalation entirely “depends on the Israeli occupation’s violations across Palestine and at Al-Aqsa mosque” located in annexed east Jerusalem.
Al-Aqsa, a Jordan-administered mosque compound, is the third holiest site in Islam. It is built on top of what Jews call the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.
Leave A Comment