AQABAT JABR, West Bank (AP) – Israeli forces stormed a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday, killing five Palestinian gunmen linked to the militant Islamic group Hamas. This is the latest bloodshed in the region and could add even more tension.
The Palestinian president’s office has criminalized the violence and urged the United States to pressure Israel to curb its abuses. The military said the purpose of the raid was to arrest the cell of the militants who foiled the shooting attack on a restaurant in the West Bank Jewish quarter.
Violence has dragged on one of the deadliest periods in years in the West Bank, with the new Israeli government, the most right-wing ever, vowing to take a tough stance against the Palestinians. occurs during the first few weeks of
The Israeli army said it was working to arrest the suspects behind the failed shooting attack on a West Bank restaurant last month in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp. The attackers then fled the scene, the military said, adding that they were members of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and also has elements in the West Bank.
The military said Monday it was searching the cells of the fighters behind the shooting. They were allegedly trapped in a house in a refugee camp. During the search, the troops encountered armed men and a firefight ensued. The military said several of the dead shooters were involved in the attempted attack on the restaurant.
Bullets littered the blood-soaked ground at the shooting scene in Aqabat Jabr. The door was riddled with bullet holes and shards of glass from shattered windows lay on the floor.
Jihad Abu al-Assal, governor of Jericho and the Jordan Valley, said the army was holding the bodies of the gunmen. The Palestinian Ministry of Health later confirmed that five Palestinians had died.
At an event at the scene of the recent deadly Palestinian shooting attack, Netanyahu confirmed earlier reports by Israeli security officials that five gunmen had been killed.
Hamas said all five of his killed were members of the militants. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the violence required a response.
The raid comes days after an earlier raid on the Aqabat Jabr camp near the Palestinian city of Jericho. Jericho is an oasis in the West Bank desert, and the military is also looking for suspects.
Israeli forces have stepped up night raids in the occupied West Bank after a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel last spring. Last year, when the crackdown escalated, Jericho remained a quiet desert town, largely spared violence.
In retaliation for the attack on the Jenin refugee camp, the Palestinian authorities have announced the end of security cooperation with Israel. Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem last year, making it the deadliest year in those regions since 2004, according to figures from the Israeli rights group Betzelem. 41 Palestinians have been killed in these areas since the beginning of the year. Palestinian attacks on Israelis killed about 30 in 2022.
The Israeli military says most of the Palestinians killed were militants. However, young people throwing stones in protest at the attack and other people not involved in the clashes were also killed. In the 1967 Middle East War, Israel conquered the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.
