JERUSALEM (Washington Insider Magazine)-Palestinian accounts claim that on Friday, during an Israeli military raid operation in a refugee settlement in the occupied West Bank, two Palestinians were killed in gunfights. It was the most recent act of violence in the region’s worst year since 2015.
Despite contradicting reports regarding the events surrounding the death of one of the men, a hospital doctor, Palestinian militant gropus claimed membership for both of the men who were killed.
Dr. Abdullah al-Ahmed was shot while on duty, caring for the injured outside his hospital, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
He was identified as a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed wing of the Fatah party. The organization claimed in a banner in which he was seen holding two rifles, announcing his death that he died in armed combat with Israeli soldiers while “defending the homeland.”
The militant organization Islamic Jihad designated the second man slain on Friday in the Jenin refugee camp as a field commander, according to ABC NEWS. The camp has frequently been as a focal point for clashes and is a bastion of the Fatah adversary Islamic Jihad.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, five people were injured during the violence, including two paramedics who were wounded when an ambulance got caught in the crossfire. As gunfire erupted, the footage shows an ambulance stuck in a camp alleyway trying to remove a dead body.
Israeli military’s statement said, on Friday, it stormed Jenin in order to apprehend a wanted Hamas member who had recently attacked Israeli security troops. Israeli security authorities captured the 24-year old Diaa Muhammad Yusef Salama, along with two other suspects. He was carrying an M-16 assault rifle.
Armed Palestinians and soldiers engaged in gunfire as a result of the raid. After militants presumably detonated bombs, images showed smoke rising from the camp. According to the military, it started shooting at the armed individuals after warning nearby people that they were putting their lives in danger by staying there.
Witnesses said that at one point a shootout broke out in front of the neighborhood hospital. According to hospital director Wisam Bakr, the doctor who worked in the licensing division was shot in the head as he exited the building to attend to an injured man in the hospital yard. Bakr also stated he was unaware of rumors that al-Ahmed belonged to a militant organization.
Speaking on behalf of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh referred to the shootings on Friday as “extrajudicial killings.”
The Israeli government has crossed all lines, he asserted.
This year, the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis claimed the lives of over 120 Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, making 2022 the bloodiest year since 2015. Since a wave of Palestinian assaults in the spring that left 19 Israelis dead, violence has increased.
Israel claims that the majority of the dead Palestinians were militants. However, youngsters who threw stones in defiance of the intrusions as well as unrelated individuals have also died.
In a time when Palestinian defense forces are unable or unwilling to do so, Israel claims the raids are necessary to destroy militant networks.
The Israeli occupation of the territory the Palestinians demand for their future state has lasted 55 years, according to the Palestinians, and the incursions weaken their security forces. In similar operations, dozens of Palestinians have been detained, and many of them have been put in what is known as administrative detention, which authorizes Israel to detain them without charge or trial.
This week, the unrest spread to east Jerusalem as Israeli authorities used stun grenades, tear gas, and live ammunition against Palestinians tossing fireworks and stones across a number of the city’s disputed areas. Israeli police stated “ on Friday that 2 Israelis were wounded during the clashes and that 18 individuals had been taken into custody on suspicion of upsetting public order.
The police has increased their patrols in the city’s flashpoint zones.
