The United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Agency (OCHA) estimates the death toll in the most recent wave of violence in the occupied West Bank at 31 Palestinians, six Israelis and one foreign citizen.
OCHA further denounced the wounding of 441 Palestinians and nine Israelis, including a member of the Israeli security forces, in incidents in the occupied West Bank. in the past three weeks.
The United Nations agency blames Israeli forces for the deaths of 10 Palestinians. including two children and a woman, and for the injuries to 26 others resulting from the use of live ammunition in an attack on the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
“This is the highest number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in a single operation in the West Bank since OCHA began collecting casualty data in 2005,” the UN agency acknowledged.
OCHA stressed that three of the dead were minors – aged 16 and 17 – who “posed no immediate threat”.
During the operation in Jenin, Israeli forces used tear gas and one of the shells hit a pediatric ward of Jenin Hospital, forcing the evacuation of the premises.
Following this incident, on January 27, a Palestinian killed six Israelis, including a minor, and a foreigner, in the Jewish settlement of Neve Yaakov, in East Jerusalem.
Nine other Palestinians, including a minor, were killed during Israeli security operations in the West Bank, while another seven Palestinians were killed in Israeli operations at military security checkpoints near Ramallah, Qalqilia and Hebron.
Israeli authorities have demolished, confiscated or evacuated 88 buildings in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, mostly due to lack of permits that OCHA says are “almost impossible to obtain”.
The demolitions left 99 Palestinians homeless – including 54 minors – and affected another 21,000 Palestinians.
As part of this operation by the Israeli security forces, six other Palestinians were injured this Saturday in a refugee camp in the Jericho area, in the occupied West Bank, increasing the balance released this Saturday by the UN agency.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Israeli troops blocked access to medical services for the victims.
In the version of the Israeli army, this Saturday’s operation was carried out with the aim of “detaining several people suspected of participating in terrorist activities”.
Source: DN
