The Israeli military continued its assault on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Thursday, killing two men wanted for the murders of three Israelis earlier this month in a siege, it said.
On Thursday, the men, identified by the Israeli military as Muhammad Nazzal and Katiba Shalabi, were affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group and carried out the operation. shooting in the village It was reported from Al-Funduk on January 6.
“Terrorists were wanted for the killing of three Israelis,” the army said, adding that an Israeli soldier was moderately injured in an operation in the village of Burgin, west of the city of Jenin, on Wednesday. “After the shooting, they were destroyed by the forces,” the report said.
It was not possible to independently confirm that those individuals were responsible for the attack on civilian buses and cars by Palestinian militants in Al-Fundug. Israeli settlers attacked the village along with other West Bank towns this week.
At least 10 people were killed raids this week The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that more than 40 people were injured. Officials told the Palestinian Wafa news agency that dozens of people were arrested.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week He said that the raids were aimed at “rooting out terrorism” and would be “wide and significant”. They are the latest in a series in recent months.
Last monthOn October 7, 2023, Palestinian security forces launched an attack of their own in Jenin against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas armed groups, which attacked Israel from Gaza, triggering a war in Gaza.
Palestinian officials said Israeli forces killed 39 people during a 10-day raid in the West Bank in August and September, most of them in the city of Jenin. They also demolished houses, shops and roads.
Israeli security forces and settlers have killed more than 800 Palestinians in the West Bank in the 15 months since the war in Gaza began, Palestinian officials said.
The United Nations condemned the violence and the International Court of Justice, the world's highest court, ruled. advisory opinion In August, he said that Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the settlements there violated international law. Mr Netanyahu criticized the idea and said the settlements were legal.
Jenin is a center of Palestinian resistance in the West Bank – both to the Israeli occupation and to the Palestinian Authority – and many young people there have joined Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other militant groups.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the level of conflict in the West Bank has increased. Israel's operation coincided with a cease-fire in Gaza that came into effect on Sunday.