According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, two men aged 19 and 36 died of gunshot wounds following an Israeli army raid in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, said the 36-year-old man was a local commander.
His brother also called him a “participant of the resistance”.
The deaths come amid growing international concern over unrest in the occupied West Bank following an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel and the Jewish state’s offensive on the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described the situation in the West Bank as reaching its peak and warned of possible consequences.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, at least five other people were injured in the Israeli military operation in the camp.
Israel’s military said its forces had arrived to arrest a “wanted high-ranking suspect” believed to be involved in attacks on Jewish state forces and the “killing of individuals suspected of collaborating with Israeli security forces in Tulkarem”.
The army statement added that the suspect was killed during the raid, following which residents of the camp began shooting and throwing explosive devices at Israeli security forces.
According to the army, a border police officer of the Jewish state was seriously wounded in the shooting. He is currently being treated in hospital.
Later, the army said it shot dead a suspect who got out of a car and approached soldiers near Nablus.
“Despite troopers yelling at the suspect and receiving no response, the suspect continued to approach them and troopers took action and neutralized him,” the statement said.
Fatah said the security official “was killed in cold blood” at the Beit Furik checkpoint outside Nablus, regarding 35 km east of Tulkarem.
Since last October’s attack, the Israeli military has stepped up almost daily raids in the occupied West Bank.
It says the raids are aimed at dismantling Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas.
At least 399 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the occupied West Bank since October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
On Friday, the Israeli army announced that since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, its troops have detained more than 3,100 people in the occupied West Bank. Palestinians, including 1,350 Hamas members.
During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, territories where the Palestinians want to establish their own state.
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2024-05-05 07:49:43