Global Courant 2023-05-22 09:52:42
The three were killed early Monday morning in a blockade of the Balata refugee camp.
The Israeli army killed three Palestinian men during a large-scale attack on the Balata refugee camp in the town of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the three men killed Monday morning as Muhammad Abu Zaytoun, 32, Fathi Abu Rizk, 30, and Abdullah Abu Hamdan, 24.
At least seven other Palestinians were injured, including four with live ammunition, and dozens more were inhaled tear gas, the ministry said.
Hundreds of Israeli soldiers and special forces took part in the attack that began at about 1 a.m. local time (22:00 GMT) and lasted until 5:00 a.m. (2:00 GMT).
According to residents, Israeli troops blocked the entrances to the camp with bulldozers and destroyed and damaged several houses, including with anti-tank grenades.
Al Jazeera’s Givara Budeiri reported from Balata refugee camp and said at least seven houses in the camp had been demolished or damaged.
“The families here remember the invasion of Nablus in 2002. They felt like the bullets pierced everything tonight,” Budeiri said, adding that paramedics were also targeted as they tried to access the wounded.
Israeli occupation forces shot dead three Palestinians early this morning during a large-scale attack on the Balata refugee camp in the northern West Bank town of Nablus. Six others were injured, one seriously.
More: pic.twitter.com/4dyNjIEMJu
— Wafa News Agency – English (@WAFANewsEnglish) May 22, 2023
The Israeli army said in a statement it had arrested three Palestinian men “suspected of involvement” in armed activity and seized weapons, but did not comment on the killings. It also said it found an “explosives lab” in one of the camp’s apartments.
Monday’s raid came after a car ram attack near Nablus on Sunday that left an Israeli soldier injured.
The Balata refugee camp is the largest in terms of population in the occupied West Bank, where some 30,000 Palestinians live in high population density on a quarter of a square kilometer.
Israeli forces also raided the Jenin refugee camp north of Nablus on Monday and arrested at least three Palestinian men.
Israel has been conducting near-daily raids and killings against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since June 2021 in an effort to crack down on a phenomenon of growing armed resistance.
In 2022, Israeli forces killed more than 170 Palestinians, including at least 30 children, in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in what was described as the deadliest year for Palestinians living in those areas since 2006.
Since the beginning of 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 156 Palestinians, including 26 children. The death toll includes 36 Palestinians killed by the Israeli army during a four-day assault on the besieged Gaza Strip between May 9 and 13.
(TagsToTranslate)News
