Three Palestinians were killed, including a minor, and 29 injured in armed clashes that erupted Monday in different parts of Jenin, north of the occupied West Bank, during an Israeli army operation.
The deputy governor of Jenin province, Kamal Abu al-Roub, told the France-Presse news agency (AFP) that the Israeli army entered the refugee camp in Jenin at around 04:00 (01:00 in Lisbon), sparking violent clashes. .
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified Khaled Asasa, 21, Qassam Abu Sariya, 29, and Ahmed Saqr, 15, among the dead and said at least four others were seriously injured in the shooting.
At least two Palestinians were arrested in the operation, which aimed, among other things, to arrest the son of Jamal Abu al-Hija, a leader of Hamas in the West Bank, who is currently imprisoned in Israel, according to the official Palestinian agency Wafa.
Most of the wounded are militiamen responding to the Israeli operation in Jenin, one of the hotbeds of the Palestinian militant movement, though a 15-year-old girl was also hit by a gunshot that entered her home, according to Wafa.
The agency said armed Palestinians fired improvised explosive devices at Israeli military vehicles and several soldiers were injured, though the Israeli military has not yet commented on the operation.
The Israeli army launched an operation with tanks and helicopters and used live bullets, tear gas and stun grenades in the Jenin refugee camp and the neighboring village of Burkin, leading to clashes with armed Palestinians.
The Jenin Battalion group, which unites several militias linked to various Palestinian factions in the refugee camp, confirmed it was responding “to the aggression of the occupiers”.
The occupied West Bank is experiencing its highest peak of violence since the Second Intifada (2000-2005), with 126 Palestinians killed this year, including 21 minors, most of them in armed clashes with Israeli forces in Nablus and Jenin.
The area has also seen an increase in the number of new Palestinian armed groups, attacks against Israelis and attacks by settlers. On the Israeli side, 21 people have died in these incidents this year, mostly settlers.
At least 160 Palestinians, 21 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian have been killed in violence related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the beginning of the year, according to an AFP tally compiled from official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
The clashes come a day after another setback to Israeli-Palestinian relations, with Israel approving the acceleration of new settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and empowering far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich to approve all phases of the initiative. .
Source: DN
