The Israeli army has stormed the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, killing at least six Palestinians and wounding 26 others, according to Palestine’s health officials.
Among those killed in the raid is Abdel Fattah Hussain Kharousha, 49, the man Israel alleges is behind a shooting last month near Nablus city which left two Israeli settlers killed. The Palestinian health ministry identified the other five killed as Mohammad Wael Gazzawi, 26, Mohammad Ahmad Khalouf, 22, Tareq Ziad Natour, 27, Ziad Amin al-Zareeni, 29, and Motasem Naser Sabbagh, 22.
At least 26 Palestinians were also wounded during the raid, the ministry said, three of them seriously. The Israeli army said two of its soldiers were lightly wounded.
The raid was the latest in a string of deadly violence by the Israeli forces in the northern West Bank. Last month, a daytime military raid in the Old City of Nablus left 11 Palestinians dead.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman for PA President Mahmoud Abbas, said: “The crime committed by the occupation forces reaffirms the Israeli government’s intention to thwart all regional and international efforts aimed at stopping all unilateral actions, which the Israeli side insists on continuing.”
Israeli forces have killed at least 69 Palestinians since January this year – which corresponds to a rate of nearly one killing every day. It’s the bloodiest start of a year since 2000, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
