Dozens injured in West Bank confrontations following killing of four Palestinians

Jerusalem24 – Dozens of Palestinians, including several small children, were injured by live ammunition, rubber-coated bullets, and tear gas inhalation during confrontations that erupted across the West Bank following the killing of four Palestinians by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank city of Jenin yesterday morning.

A total of 96 Palestinians have now been killed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank this year including 24 children, 38 of which were killed in Jenin.

Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi said yesterday evening that the Israeli military had carried out a “complex operation” in Jenin with the aim of “thwarting concrete threats from a number of wanted persons”.

According to Israeli Channel 12, Kohavi also approved a plan to carry out targeted, airborne assassinations in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, the Fatah movement in Jenin and Southern Hebron announced last night that today Thursday would see another comprehensive strike in the Jenin and southern Hebron governorates, with shops and schools closed in mourning for the four Palestinians killed.

A comprehensive strike was implemented in all major cities and towns across the West Bank yesterday. Confrontations between Palestinian youth, Palestinian armed fighters, and Israeli forces yesterday afternoon and overnight led to the injury of dozens, some of which remain in critical condition.

Tense night in the West Bank

There have been several consecutive months of tense nights in the West Bank, with near-nightly – and daily – raids by the Israeli military on villages and cities from north to south, particularly Jenin and Nablus. However, the sheer number of casualties during yesterday’s raid on Jenin has led many Palestinians to take to the streets in frustration.

In occupied East Jerusalem, confrontations erupted between Palestinian youth and Israeli forces near the separation wall in the town of Beit Duqo. Palestinian youth also threw stones at a light rail train in the town of Shuafat. And Israeli police and military deployed a skunk water truck in Al-Issawiya, which Palestinian youth then targeted with Molotov cocktails.

In Bethlehem, Palestinian youth threw Molotov cocktails at Israeli settler vehicles near the village of Hussein.

Confrontations also broke out in Qalqilya, and once again in Jenin when the army invaded the village of Yaabd south of Jenin and raided a number of houses.

In Nablus, two Palestinian armed groups claimed three separate shooting attacks targeting Israeli forces west of the city, and the military point in the Tur area as well as the illegal settlement of Har Brakha, located on Palestinian land close to Nablus.

In the village of Madma south of Nablus, a Palestinian family was attacked by Israeli settlers operating under the protection of Israeli forces, after they went to defend their land from the settlers setting fire to their olive trees. Two young men from the family, Ahmad and Adham Ziyadeh, were arrested by Israeli forces; photos distributed on social media show the two bloodied and injured men being detained. At least one elderly man was injured and hospitalized.

In Huwara south of Nablus, a frequent scene of confrontations as Israeli settlers and soldiers attack residents and Palestinians who transit through the town, which is located on the main road between the south and north of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported 34 injuries in confrontations that lasted into the night.

In Hebron, confrontations broke out between Palestinian youth and Israeli forces in Al-Aroub refugee camp north of the city. While to the west, gunfire reportedly targeted an Israeli settler vehicle close to the town of Dura. Following reports of the shooting, Israeli forces stormed local shops and confiscated CCTV recordings.

A subsequent large-scale raid on Dura in the early hours of the morning led to 12 injuries, including from live ammunition and rubber bullets, as well as cases of suffocation from tear gas including small children. The Ministry of Health announced that three injuries from live ammunition in the lower limbs were admitted to Dora Government Hospital; all are in a stable condition.

In Ramallah, two Palestinian youths including a 16-year-old child were critically injured by live ammunition during confrontations with Israeli forces in Al-Bireh close to the illegal settlement of Beit El. The Ministry of Health said both were admitted to the operating room in Ramallah hospital in critical condition. A 26-year-old man was hit by a bullet in the back which lodged in his chest, while the child was hit in the abdomen, which led to significant damage to a main artery.

The Ministry of Health also issued a statement on Facebook, saying the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah has not asked for blood donations, and that there is currently no shortage of blood units. The statement additionally said, “We hope that the medical teams working inside the complex will not be disrupted.”

The British Consulate in Jerusalem shared a statement on Facebook “urging restraint in the use of lethal force by Israel.”

NB: The casualty figures mentioned by the British Consulate seem to include Palestinians who were killed by settlers or who died in other circumstances involving Israeli forces. The casualty figures used by Jerusalem24 in this and other articles are of Palestinians killed by Israeli military fire.