Israeli forces have killed 2 wanted Palestinian soldiers in a deadly attack

Israel’s military launched an offensive on Thursday in Jenin, a city known as the center of violent opposition to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, killing two men in the siege who are wanted for murder. Three Israelis.

The men, identified on Thursday as Mohamad Nazzal and Qutayba Shalabi, were affiliated with a militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and carried out a shooting in the West Bank town of Al-Funduq earlier this month. this month targeting an Israeli bus and car. said the Israeli soldier.

Since a cease-fire began in Gaza this week, Israel has turned its attention to Jenin, which Israeli officials have called a military priority. It is the latest in a series of manhunts for the militants who have stormed the streets and left many Gazans hiding in their homes out of fear. At least 10 people were killed in attacks this week, and more than 40 others were injured, the Palestinian health ministry said on Wednesday.

The official Palestinian prisoners’ commission said dozens of people had been arrested.

The Israeli military said in a statement on Thursday that the two militants were killed in a shootout in the town of Burqin, west of Jenin, the following day. An Israeli soldier was wounded.

Hamas-run al-Aqsa TV released pictures of the two men and said they were members of its armed wing. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad has acknowledged the death of the two men it said carried out the attack. Mr. Nazzal, 25, is said to be the leader of his Jenin battalion.

In a statement on Telegram, a social messaging app, it said he died “after an encounter with enemy forces that besieged him.” It is not clear whether Mr. Nazzal is a member of both groups.

The move comes amid heightened tensions in the West Bank, as militants have grown in power and settler violence against Palestinian civilians has increased.

In a militant attack on June 6, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on buses and cars. Israeli settlers attacked the city this week along with other West Bank towns, burning cars and buildings, according to Palestinian officials and the Israeli army.

During its offensive in recent years, Israeli bulldozers have torn up roads and water pipes, looking for explosive devices planted by militants.

Mohammad Jarrar, the mayor of Jenin, said thousands had fled the neighborhood known as the Jenin camp, which was the center of the Israeli operation. The remaining people were cut off from electricity and running water, he said, creating the possibility of a “humanitarian disaster”.

“Every time we rebuild, the next attack destroys us again,” he said.

The city opened public shelters to accommodate people displaced by Israeli military operations, but struggled to provide them with enough food and supplies, Mr. Jarrar added.

Israeli soldiers set up checkpoints near Jenin’s main public hospital, checking all vehicles entering and leaving the hospital, said Wissam Bakr, the hospital’s director. The soldiers allowed the ambulance to go quickly after the inspection, said Dr. Bakr, but sometimes they were detained by the soldiers and caused delays.

The Israeli campaign came after security forces with the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank under Israeli occupation, carried out a special operation in Jenin following the deployment of the Israeli army to protect it.

Israel’s latest operation appears to be the biggest since a 10-day offensive in the West Bank in August and September that killed 39 people, mostly in Jenin, according to Palestinian officials. . The raids also destroyed houses, shops and roads.

The United Nations has condemned the violence in the West Bank, and the world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, issued an opinion in the summer saying that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank West and East Jerusalem, and their settlements there, violated international law. law. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the idea and said the settlements were legal.

Jenin is a center of Palestinian resistance in the West Bank — to the occupation of Israel and the Palestinian Authority — and many young people there have joined Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other armed groups.