Israeli strike in West Bank kills three Palestinians

Three Palestinians were killed, including a minor, and 29 were injured in armed clashes that broke out this Monday in Jenin, north of the occupied West Bank, during an operation by the Israeli army.

The deputy governor of Jenin province, Kamal Abu al-Roub, told the France-Presse (AFP) news agency that the Israeli army entered the refugee camp in Jenin at around 04:00 (01:00 in Lisbon) , leading to 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 wounded in the shooting.

According to the official Palestinian agency Wafa, at least two Palestinians were arrested in the operation, which aimed to arrest, among others, the son of Jamal Abu al-Hija, a leader of Hamas in the West Bank, currently imprisoned in Israel.

Most of the wounded are militiamen who responded to the Israeli operation in Jenin, one of the hotbeds of the Palestinian militant movement, although a 15-year-old girl was also hit by a shot that entered her home, according to Wafa.

The agency indicated that armed Palestinians fired improvised explosive devices at Israeli military vehicles and that several soldiers were injured, although the Israeli army has yet to comment 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, which led to clashes with armed Palestinians.

The Jenin Battalion group, which brings together several militias linked to different Palestinian factions in the refugee camp, confirmed that it responded “to the aggression of the occupants”.

The occupied West Bank is experiencing the 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 troops in Nablus and Jenin.

The area has also seen an increase in the number of new Palestinian armed groups, attacks against Israelis, as well as attacks by settlers. On the Israeli side, 21 people have died in these incidents this year, mostly settlers.

Since the beginning of the year, at least 160 Palestinians, 21 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian have been killed in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an AFP count compiled from official Israeli and Palestinian sources.

The clashes come a day after a new setback for Israeli-Palestinian relations, with Israel approving the acceleration of construction of new settlements in the occupied West Bank and granting ultra-right minister Bezalel Smotrich the authority to approve all phases. of the initiative.