Six Palestinians were killed and nearly 20 others injured in raids by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, mainly in the city of Nablus, early Tuesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
The ministry initially reported “three dead and 19 injured, three seriously injured” in Nablus. He later added that a fourth Palestinian was also killed by Israeli fire in Nablus and that two other Palestinians were killed in Ramallah, the seat of Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority in the center of the West Bank, and in the village of Nabi Saleh.
The Israeli army did not comment on this assessment, but confirmed that it had carried out a large-scale operation with the police against the “headquarters and a weapons-manufacturing workshop” of the new group of Palestinian fighters, nicknamed “The Lion’s Den”. Old town of Nablus. During this operation, “several armed suspects were shot dead,” the army said.
Violence has increased in recent months in the northern West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by the Jewish state since 1967, particularly in the areas of Nablus and Jenin, strongholds of armed groups where Israeli soldiers are stepping up operations following deadly anti-Israeli attacks have since March.
These raids, often punctuated by clashes with the Palestinian population, left more than a hundred Palestinian dead, the highest number in the West Bank in almost seven years, according to the UN. According to a report compiled by AFP, 29 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the month.
On Tuesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told Israeli public radio Kan that one of the “Lion’s Den” leaders, Wadih Al Houh, had been killed.
“They need to know that wherever they are, we will reach them, Israel will never stop acting for their security and we will do what needs to be done, the goal is to reduce terrorism and ensure that.” it does not affect Israeli citizens.”
For his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is “making urgent contacts in Nablus to put an end to this aggression against our people,” his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah said in a statement.
“war crimes”
In recent weeks, a group of young Palestinian fighters, some affiliated with well-known groups such as Fatah, Hamas or Islamic Jihad and others not, have begun conducting anti-Israeli operations from Nablus, a major city in the northern occupied West Bank.
The new group, christened “Areen al-Ossoud” in Arabic, “Lion’s Den” in French, in honor of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, a young fighter nicknamed the “Lion of Nablus” who was killed by Israeli forces in early August was notable claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on an Israeli soldier two weeks ago in the occupied West Bank.
On Tuesday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad said in a statement that its “fighters have engaged in violent clashes” with Israeli forces in Nablus and threatened Israel with retaliation “against these crimes” there.
In doing so, the Israeli army tightened the noose around Nablus, establishing checks to identify those who had left the city and constantly monitoring the skies with observation drones.
Separately, human rights organization Amnesty International on Tuesday called for an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into possible “war crimes” committed by Israeli and Palestinian militants during the escalation in the Gaza Strip in August.
At least 49 Palestinians, including combatants but also civilians and children, died August 5-7 in a confrontation between the Israeli army and the Islamic Jihad group in Gaza, an enclave under Israeli blockade since 2007 and politically and geographically separated from the West Bank Cut.