Al-Jazeera / September 24, 2023
Sunday’s raid is just the latest in a stepped-up campaign of violence targeting Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Two Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli military raid on a refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem, health officials say.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said two men – Asid Abu Ali, 21, and Abdulrahman Abu Daghash, 32 – were killed by Israeli fire in Sunday’s raid, which caused heavy damage to camp infrastructure.
In its comment on the latest bloodshed, the Israeli military said it had gone into the Nour Shams refugee camp to destroy “a militant command centre and bomb-storage facility” in a building.
It said that engineering units detonated several bombs planted under roads and that armed Palestinian fighters opened fire and hurled explosives at the raiding army, causing Israeli troops to respond with live fire.
Earlier in the month, Israeli forces fatally shot 21-year-old Ayed Samih Khaled Abu Harb in the head during a raid on Nour Shams refugee camp.
Deadliest year for Palestinians: UN
Israel has been carrying out stepped-up military raids, primarily in the north of the occupied West Bank, for the past 18 months in what it says is a campaign to root out Palestinian resistance fighters and thwart future attacks.
The Israeli army has been militarily occupying the West Bank, where some three million Palestinians live, for 56 years.
In July, Israel launched one of its biggest attacks on the occupied West Bank, killing at least 12 Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp and wounding about 100 others.
The raids have shown little sign of slowing the fighting and contributed to the weakening of the Palestinian Authority, the self-ruled administration over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The United Nations has said 2023 is the deadliest year for Palestinians since it started counting deaths in 2006.
More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of this year, according to the Health Ministry. At least 35 Israelis were also killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period.
Tensions spread to Gaza Strip
Over the past week, tensions have begun to spread to the blockaded Gaza Strip, where hundreds of Palestinians have been holding daily demonstrations along the separation fence built by Israel to close it off.
Israel had shut the Beit Hanouna (called Erez by Israel) crossing with Gaza last week in advance of the Rosh Hashanah Jewish holiday, preventing thousands of workers from getting to their jobs in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
Approximately 18,000 Gaza Palestinians have permits from Israeli authorities to work outside the blockaded enclave, providing a vital injection of cash amounting to some $2m daily to the impoverished enclave’s economy.
SOURCE: AL-JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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Israeli military attacks Gaza Strip amid protests at border
Al-Jazeera / September 22, 2023
At least 22 people have been injured in attacks targeting Hamas’s security outposts in the besieged enclave.
The Israeli military has said its forces have conducted air attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip, where protesters have had confrontations for days with Israeli troops along the separation fence.
The military said the drone strikes targeted two military posts belonging to Hamas movement governing the Gaza Strip, while a tank hit another post from which shots were fired on troops confronting protesters.
The Hamas-affiliated radio station Aqsa said two people had been wounded in the strikes.
In Al-Maghazi refugee camp, Al-Sayed said drones had appeared overhead in a matter of minutes, dropping stun grenades and tear gas canisters on the heavily populated area.
Meanwhile, tanks positioned on the border shot artillery shells at the Palestinian enclave, the correspondent said.
“It seems that Israel is responding to the incendiary balloons sent by the protesters across the border,” she said.
The protesters were evacuating the area as a result of the attacks, the reporter added.
At least 22 people have been injured, according to the Ministry of Health.
Israel shut the Beit Hanouna (called “Erez” by Israel) crossing with Gaza last week in advance of the Rosh Hashanah Jewish holiday, preventing thousands of workers from getting to their jobs in Israel and the West Bank. The closure was extended after days of border demonstrations in which Israeli troops opened fire on stone-throwing protesters.
Approximately 18,000 Gaza Palestinians have permits from Israeli authorities to work outside the blockaded enclave, providing a vital injection of cash amounting to some $2m a day to the impoverished territory’s economy.
Demonstrators along the Gaza separation fence have hurled stones as well as improvised explosive devices, while Israeli troops have attacked with tear gas and live fire.
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down more than a decade ago, and violence has soared over the past year and a half, with Israel carrying out frequent military raids in the occupied West Bank.
In July, Israel launched one of its biggest attacks on the occupied West Bank, killing at least 12 Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp and wounding at least 100 more.
In response to rockets fired from Gaza after Israel ended its large-scale offensive in Jenin, Israeli fighter jets struck the besieged enclave, drawing condemnation from Iran, Egypt, Jordan and the Arab League, among others.
Friday’s attack on the blockaded strip came shortly after as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly that Israel was “at the cusp” of a historic breakthrough leading to a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview with Fox News this week that the two sides were inching closer to an agreement, without providing much detail about the US-led negotiations.
He declined to specify what exactly the Saudis are seeking for the Palestinians, but said they “could greatly benefit from a broader peace.”
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalized their ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords in September 2020. Since then, they have deepened their relations across a number of economic domains, as well as defence.
SOURCE: AL-JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
