Israeli troops killed 10 Palestinians, including a 72-year old elderly man and a youth in a flashpoint city in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, witnesses and medical officials said. The raid on Wednesday took place in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, a scene of frequent Israeli military activity. It was one of the bloodiest incidents in nearly a year of heavy fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and raised the possibility of further bloodshed. The Associated Press has the story:
Israeli army killed 10 Palestinians in W. Bank
Newslooks- JERUSALEM (AP)
Israeli troops on Wednesday entered a major Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank in a rare, daytime arrest operation, triggering fighting that killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded scores of others. Palestinian officials say at least ten Palestinians have been killed and dozens were wounded in an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank.
They say that a 72-year-old man was among the dead.
The raid on Wednesday took place in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, a scene of frequent Israeli military activity.
The raid, which reduced a building to rubble and left a series of shops riddled with bullets, was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. It was one of the bloodiest incidents in nearly a year of heavy fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and raised the possibility of further bloodshed.
Two Palestinians were killed and more than two dozen were wounded during a daytime Israeli army arrest raid in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinian officials said.
The brazen raid, coupled with the high death toll, raised the prospect of further bloodshed. A similar raid last month was followed by a deadly Palestinian attack outside a Jerusalem synagogue, and the Hamas militant group warned that “its patience is running out.”
The Israeli military said it entered the city to arrest three wanted militants suspected in previous shooting attacks in the West Bank. It said it tracked down the men in a hideout.
The army said it surrounded the building and asked the men to surrender, but instead they opened fire. It said all three were killed in a shootout.
It was the latest violence in a year of unrest in the West Bank that has seen almost daily Israeli raids and Palestinian attacks that shows no sign of abating.
The Palestinian health ministry said the raid took place in the city of Nablus; the names of the two killed were not immediately provided. Twenty-five people were wounded, the ministry said.
It said that during the raid, armed suspects “shot heavily toward the forces,” which responded with live fire. It said others hurled rocks and explosives at the troops. There were no Israeli casualties. It released photos of what it said were two automatic rifles confiscated in the raid.
In the Old City of Nablus, people stared at the rubble that had been a large home in the centuries-old casbah. From one end to the other, shops were riddled with bullets. Parked cars were crushed. Blood stained the cement ruins. Furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said of the 102 people wounded, six were in critical condition. Palestinian militant groups claimed three of the dead as members. But a 72-year-old man was also killed. There was no immediate word on whether the others belonged to armed groups.
The Israeli military said its troops were operating in Nablus, but provided no further information. Amateur video footage appeared to show Israeli troops operating in downtown Nablus, and army vehicles firing tear gas canisters.
Last month, Israeli troops killed 10 militants in a similar raid in the northern West Bank. The following day, a lone Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement, killing seven people.
Days later, five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli arrest raid elsewhere in the West Bank. That was followed by a Palestinian car ramming that killed three Israelis, including two young brothers, in Jerusalem.
The fighting comes at a sensitive time, less than two months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new hard-line government took office. The government is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for tougher action against Palestinian militants. Israeli media have quoted top security officials as expressing concern that this could lead to even more violence.
In the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group issued a veiled threat.
“The resistance in Gaza is observing the enemy’s escalating crimes against our people in the occupied West Bank, and its patience is running out,” said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the group.
The group has battled Israel to four wars since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, and Israeli officials have expressed concerns about rising tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in March.
At least 51 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since the start of 2023. Last year, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, making it the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Israel says that most of those killed have been militants but others — including youths protesting the incursions and other people not involved in confrontations — have also been killed.
Israel says the military raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks while the Palestinians view them as further entrenchment of Israel’s open-ended, 55-year occupation.
Israel says that most of those killed have been militants but others — including youths protesting the incursions and other people not involved in confrontations — have also been killed. An AP tally has found that just under half of those killed belonged to militant groups.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians seek for their hoped-for independent state.
