PA calls for ICC to probe killing of three in Nablus
The Palestinian Authority on Monday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch an investigation into Israeli “crimes” and bring those responsible to trial.
The call came in response to the killing of three Palestinians during armed clashes with Israeli security forces in Balata refugee camp, near Nablus, earlier on Monday.
The three men killed in Balata were identified as Fathi Jihad Rizeq, 30, Abdullah Yusef Abu Hamdan, 24, and Muhammed Bilal Zaytoun, 32. Another three Palestinians
were wounded, one critically, during the raid.
Thousands of Palestinians, including dozens of gunmen, attended the funeral of the three men. A general strike was declared in Nablus and its surrounding villages and refugee camps to mourn the death of the three men.
The counterterrorism activity in Balata refugee camp, which came following intelligence from the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), was conducted by soldiers and Border Police officers, the IDF said in a statement.
The troops apprehended three wanted individuals suspected of involvement in terrorism and confiscated three M-16 rifles, ammunition, military equipment and weapon parts, according to the statement. In one of the houses, the forces found an explosives manufacturing site, containing dozens of kilograms of explosives.
During the operation, gunmen fired at soldiers, who responded with live fire, the IDF said.
Also Monday morning, soldiers who entered Jenin arrested three Palestinian suspects and confiscated military equipment. While the forces exited the city, suspects
hurled explosive devices at them. The soldiers responded with live fire.
The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli military operations and said the Israeli government was “fully and directly responsible for these crimes.”
In a statement, it said it would refer the case of the three Palestinians killed in Balata to the ICC. It called on the tribunal’s prosecutor to launch an immediate investigation into
the incident and hold those responsible to account.
PA presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said the killings were a “real massacre and a continuation of the comprehensive war against the Palestinian people.”
He criticized the US administration for its silence toward Israeli “crimes” and called for immediate intervention to stop the “aggression.”
Mahmoud Habbash, religious affairs adviser to the PA president, accused Israel of perpetrating “crimes” against the Palestinians. He took the international community to task for failing to provide protection for the Palestinians.
PLO Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh condemned the operation in Balata and accused Israel of “waging an open-ended war” on the Palestinians.
Hama said Israel would pay the price for its “heinous crime.”
The killing of the three men would not discourage the Palestinians from responding to the Israeli “crimes” and defending al-Aqsa Mosque, it said.
Islamic Jihad, the second-largest terrorist group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas, said Israeli “crimes will increase the determination of the Palestinians to continue the path of resistance.” It said the three slain men were “brave resistance fighters” and called for stepping up armed attacks against Israel.