Israeli Troops Clash With Armed Palestinians In Jenin Refugee Camp During Early Morning Raid

Israeli troops clashed with armed Palestinian men in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank on Tuesday morning during an unusually early morning raid, with the army saying it was operating in Wadi Burqin near the camp entrance.

The army said it fired anti-tank shells toward a Palestinian wanted by authorities after he refused to surrender, and the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said three Palestinians were wounded in the exchanges of gunfire.

Chronique de Palestine

The Times of Israel reported that Israeli forces intensified operations in the West Bank after a deadly wave of terrorism in Israel that has killed 19 since March 22, and it said at least 30 Palestinians were killed during this same period, according to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry.

In a separate incident described by The Times of Israel, a Palestinian shooter, Amjad al-Fayyed, 17, was killed and another seriously wounded during exchanges of fire in the town of Kafr Dan, nearby, after Israeli troops opened fire in response to violence during a raid.

The Times of Israel also said the Israeli army announced on Tuesday morning that five suspected terrorists had been arrested across the West Bank, with an army spokesperson noting at least two were in possession of illegal weapons.

Thousands of Palestinians attended Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral in Jerusalem after she was shot in the head while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank, with the funeral held against a backdrop of ongoing violence.

Parismatch said Al Jazeera, the government of Qatar, and the Palestinian Authority accused the Israeli army of killing her, while Israel said it did not rule out that the bullet had been fired by its soldiers and had previously said she had 'probably' succumbed to a Palestinian shot.

parismatch

Parismatch reported that Israel’s preliminary investigation said it was not possible to determine immediately the origin of the shot that killed the journalist and that the shot could have originated from either Palestinian or Israeli sources.

The Times of Israel described the Israeli army’s position that it had not yet been able to determine who fired the fatal shot, and it said Abu Akleh died during clashes between Israeli soldiers and armed Palestinian men in Jenin.

Parismatch added that Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday that he refused a joint investigation with Israel, saying, "The Israeli authorities have committed this crime and we do not trust them."

In the occupied West Bank, AFP reported that hundreds of people left the Jenin refugee camp on Thursday 'by order of the Israeli army,' according to the city’s governor, while the Israeli army quickly denied the order.

“Hundreds of people left the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, 'by order of the Israeli army,' the city's governor told AFP”

RTBF

RTBF said the governor, Kamal Abou al-Roub, told AFP that the army ordered residents to evacuate via loudspeakers mounted on drones and military vehicles, and it said Salim Al-Saadi described Israeli soldiers at his doorstep and asked residents to leave before 5:00 p.m. local time.

RTBF reported that the Israeli army, questioned by AFP, denied it had been informed of any evacuation order for Jenin residents at that time.

Chronique de Palestine described a week-old offensive in the north of the West Bank and said Israel killed 16 Palestinians and wounded dozens more since it began its offensive on Jenin and the north of the West Bank a week ago, while the Israeli army said it had killed 15 Palestinian fighters and arrested 40 others.

Chronique de Palestine also said UNRWA was not able to provide its services in the camp and that the camp services committee put the figure at about 80% of the camp’s population having left.