Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians in West Bank in shoot out
Israeli forces exchanged gunfire with some Palestinians barricaded in a house in the West Bank on Sunday, killing two people, according to Israel’s police and a militant group.
Israeli authorities only said armed Palestinians were killed during the hours-long predawn clash in the city of Nablus.
The militant group Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said there were two Palestinians killed at the house and that they were its members.
No Israeli forces were wounded, police said.
The two men killed were identified as Aboud Sobh, 29, and Muhammad Al-Azizi, 22, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, a humanitarian organization.
Six others were wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
A neighbor recalled hearing gunshots from inside the house before the Israelis opened fire.
“They were calling the name of one person, asking him to surrender,” said Naser Estitya, 60.
Part of the wall on the top floor of the home had been heavily damaged, pictures from the scene revealed.
“Another crime committed by the occupation forces in the old city of #Nablus, where martyrs have fallen and many wounded,” wrote Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official, in a tweet. “We strongly condemn this crime, and we hold the occupation [responsible] for its repercussions.”
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the suspects were wanted for a series of shootings.
“We won’t sit and wait for Israeli citizens to be harmed,” he said during a meeting of his Cabinet. “We will go out and harm the terrorists in their homes.”
A rep for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the violence, declaring it was a result of Israel’s continued occupation of areas Palestinians want to be part of an independent state.
“The region will remain in a cycle of violence until the occupation is ended and a just peace achieved,” said the representative, Nabil Abu Rdeneh.
The Israeli military said a violent protest broke out as troops were operating in Nablus. Protesters hurled explosive devices at soldiers and opened fire at them, Israel said. The soldiers returned fire, the military said.
The military said it also operated in a separate area of the West Bank, where another exchange of shots took place.
Israeli forces have in recent months been conducting frequent raids in the occupied West Bank, which they described as an attempt to put an end to a series of street attacks by Palestinians on Israelis.
Israel has faced armed resistance during some of those operations, several of which have turned deadly.
The Palestinian attacks on Israelis earlier this year killed 19 people, while more than 60 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of 2022, according to an official Palestinian tally.
Many Palestinians want the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — territories Israel captured during the Six-Day War in 1967 — for their own state.
US-led peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in those areas broke down in 2014 and have not since been resuscitated.
With Post Wires
