Violence in the West Bank continues after the Temple Mount riots. According to the Israeli military, Palestinian attackers shot dead a security guard at an Israeli settlement.
A deadly attack on a security guard at an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and the murder of a young Palestinian by Israeli soldiers have further heightened tensions in the Middle East. The Israeli army increased its presence in the West Bank on Saturday. Israeli security forces arrested several people in the city of Burqin and in the Balata refugee camp. According to the army, weapons were also confiscated.
According to the Israeli army, two “terrorists” opened fire on a security guard in the Israeli West Bank settlement of Ariel late on Friday. The criminals then fled in a car. According to rescue teams, the security guard, who would have been between 20 and 30 years old, could not resist his injuries.
Al-Aqsa Brigades, one of the largest Palestinian militant organizations in the West Bank, claimed responsibility for the attack on the guard. The spokesman for radical Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hasem Kassem, described the attack as a “heroic operation to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan”. It is part of “our people’s response to the attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque”.
Terror returns to Israel
Recently, there have been several clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at the mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, a Palestinian was shot dead during an operation by Israeli soldiers in the village of Assun, near Ariel. The young man was hit in the chest. Initially, it was unclear whether this incident was related to the search for the two authors of Ariel.
Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have increased significantly recently. On Friday, 42 people were injured in renewed clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police in East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Israeli police said “protesters” threw rocks and fireworks into the square in front of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, including at the Western Wall.
Israeli security forces then entered the area around the mosque and used tear gas and rubber bullets against the mostly young men, eyewitnesses and reporters from the AFP news agency reported.
Concerned about escalating conflict in the Middle East
In the past two weeks, around 300 Palestinians have been injured in riots on the grounds of the mosque. Since late March, 15 people have also been killed in various anti-Israel attacks. During Israeli security forces’ operations in the occupied West Bank, among other places, 27 Palestinians and three Israeli Arabs were killed, including several alleged assassins.
There are fears that tensions could further escalate the conflict in the Middle East. A year ago, unrest in Jerusalem sparked an 11-day armed conflict between Gaza’s Hamas and the Israeli army, during which more than 250 people were killed.
(APA/AFP)