Al-Jazeera / September 25, 2022
The second man, killed on Sunday morning, was identified as Saed al-Koni, reportedly a Palestinian fighter.
Israeli troops have killed a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, the second to be killed in the city and its surroundings in the space of 24 hours.
Palestinian sources said a Palestinian fighter, named by the health ministry as Saed al-Koni, had been killed and that at least two others had been injured during confrontations at dawn on Sunday with Israeli forces in the Al-Taawon area of Nablus.
The Israeli army said soldiers had fired on “armed suspects in a vehicle and a motorcycle” during a routine patrol near Nablus in the northern West Bank, an area that has seen near-daily violence in recent months.
While the details were not yet clear, Al-Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank that Palestinian sources said three Palestinians had been planning to attack Israelis entering Joseph’s Tomb near Nablus. The funerary monument is in an area officially under the control of the Palestinian Authority, and which Israelis require authorization to enter.
Near-daily Israeli raids in the occupied territory, resulting in dozens of Palestinian deaths, have been followed by a sharp rise in the number of attacks by Palestinians against Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
“According to Israeli reports, there have been more than 60 shooting attacks this year alone, compared with 50 last year, and less than 10 the year before,” Ibrahim said.
A coalition of fighters called ‘”The Lion’s Den”, which has emerged recently in Nablus, claimed Al-Koni was one of its members.
Ibrahim said two other members of the group, which has vowed to continue its attacks on Israelis, were also wounded in the attack.
A member of the group, Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, became one of the faces of Palestinian armed resistance after he was killed by Israeli forces in August. Pendants of Al-Nabulsi are on sale in the markets of Nablus’ Old City.
Ongoing tensions
Al-Koni’s death followed another in the Nablus area yesterday.
On Saturday, a Palestinian driver was killed by Israeli troops after what the army called an “attempted ramming attack”, but which Palestinians said was a traffic accident.
The Palestinian authorities accused Israeli police of intentionally killing the man, identified as 36-year-old Muhammad Ali Hussein Awad from the West Bank town of Beit Ijza, near Jerusalem.
“The Israeli police deliberately shot Awad, with the aim of killing him, after his vehicle collided with a police vehicle in a traffic accident,” the Palestinian foreign ministry said on Saturday, describing him as a “defenceless Palestinian” who was not “posing any danger”.
Israel has been on high alert in advance of the Jewish holiday season, beginning on Sunday evening with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
SOURCE: AL-JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian man near Nablus
Middle East Eye / September 25, 2022
Death of Saed al-Koni is the second killing of a Palestinian by Israeli forces in the area in two days.
Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on Sunday, the second such killing in two days.
Palestinian security sources told the WAFA news agency that Saed al-Koni, who was in his early 20s, was shot by undercover Israeli forces during a raid on the Al-Taawon neighbourhood of the city.
It said three other Palestinians were injured during the incident and later rushed to hospital.
In a statement, the Israeli army said: “Overnight, during IDF [Israeli army] routine activity, IDF soldiers spotted armed suspects driving in a vehicle and motorcycle adjacent to the city of Nablus.
“IDF soldiers responded by firing towards the armed suspects. Hits were identified.”
The Den of Lions, an umbrella grouping of Palestinian militants from different factions, said Koni was a “hero of the resistance” who had died during “clashes with occupation forces”.
‘Not posing any danger’
Koni’s killing is the second death of a Palestinian at the hands of Israeli forces in the Nablus area in the past two days.
Nablus is home to one of the largest refugee camps on the West Bank. Most shops were closed on Sunday after factions in the area called for a general strike.
On Saturday, Israeli troops killed 36-year-old Palestinian driver Muhammad Ali Hussein Awad.
Israel claimed it killed Awad in response to an “attempted ramming attack”, but Palestinian officials described Awad as “defenceless” and “not posing any danger”.
“The Israeli police deliberately shot Awad, with the aim of killing him, after his vehicle collided with a police vehicle in a traffic accident,” the Palestinian foreign ministry said.
Since March, Israel has launched hundreds of raids in the northern West Bank, including in Nablus and nearby Jenin, in pursuit of individuals it accuses of involvement in deadly attacks targeting Israelis.
The raids have sparked clashes that have killed scores of Palestinians, including both civilians and fighters.
