JENIN, Palestinian Territories— Four Palestinians
were killed on Monday in clashes with Israeli security forces at the restive
Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
اضافة اعلان
Israeli occupation forces said its personnel came under
"heavy gunfire at short range" during a search for a Palestinian
suspected of involvement in alleged "terrorist" activities.
“There were no victims among our ranks,” an Israeli forces
spokesperson said, and that the threat had been “neutralized.”
The Palestinian health ministry identified the four as Raed
Abu Seif, 21, and Saleh Ammar, 19, as well as Amjad Husseiniyah and Nureddin
Jarrar, whose ages were not immediately available.
The bodies of Abu Seif and Ammar were seen at the Jenin
hospital morgue, while Israeli forces were holding two other bodies.
Late morning, a crowd gathered for the funerals of Abu Seif
and Ammar, whose remains were draped in Palestinian flags and carried on
makeshift stretchers through the Jenin refugee camp.
The camp was a hotspot during the two
Palestinian intifadas
against Israel in 1987–1993 and 2000–2005.
'Heinous crime'
UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland voiced alarm over
their killings.
"Alarmed by the incident in which 4 #Palestinians were
killed by Israeli Security Forces who reportedly came under fire during an
arrest operation in Jenin," he wrote on Twitter, adding that
"authorities must swiftly investigate."
The Palestinian presidency condemned a "heinous
crime" and held Israel "responsible for the escalation and its
repercussions".
"The continuation of the Israeli policy will lead to an
explosion of the situation, increased tensions, and instability,"
presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina warned in a statement.
The Jenin gunfight was the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian
violence since the May 21 start of an uneasy ceasefire between Israel and
Palestinian militants in Gaza following a deadly 11-day battle.
Hours after the Jenin incident, a rocket was fired from Gaza
toward Israel, which intercepted it with the "Iron Dome" missile
system, Israeli forces said.
No group claimed responsibility for the rocket, the first
since the May fighting sparked by clashes in Jerusalem over evictions and
police raids of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli airstrikes killed 260 people, including fighters, in
the blockaded enclave, while rockets and mortars from Gaza killed 13 in
Israelis including a soldier.
Settlement fuels protests
Since the UN-mediated ceasefire came into effect, there have
been numerous clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the northern
occupied West Bank, fuelled by a dispute over an illegal Israeli settlement.
Residents of the village of Beita have held regular protests
since May against dozens of Israeli settlers who built an illegal settlement
unauthorized by Israel on lands Palestinians say belong to Beita and other
nearby communities.
Israeli occupation forces who quelled the protests have
killed several Palestinians and left hundreds more injured.
The Eviatar settlement was evacuated in early July but
Israeli troops continue to guard the site and the illegal housing units built
on the land while authorities consider whether to approve a permanent
community.
Beita residents have vowed to continue their campaign until
Israel’s occupation forces also leave the outpost.
Israel occupied the West Bank during the 1967 Arab-Israeli
war and all Jewish settlements there are considered illegal by most of the
international community.
Almost half a million people live in such illegal Israeli
settlements in the West Bank, alongside 2.8 million Palestinians.
Read more
Region and World
.jpg)
.jpg)
