Seven Palestinians killed in Jenin strike as occupied West Bank violence surges
An Israeli attack on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin yesterday killed seven Palestinians, in the latest deadly assault there.
Official Palestinian media claimed the men, including four brothers from the Jenin village of Shohada, were “executed in cold blood” while sitting on a pavement near the Martyr’s Roundabout in the south of the city.
The Wafa news agency quoted witnesses as saying no confrontation had taken place.
The killings happened as Israeli forces raided Jenin refugee camp, when an Israeli border police officer was killed after an explosive was thrown at his vehicle.
Several others were wounded, the Israeli army said, with a military helicopter “killing a number of terrorists” who threw explosives at the soldiers. The renewed violence comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returns to the region.
Mr Blinken is scheduled to visit several Gulf countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, during his tour.
He will also visit Israel, the occupied West Bank, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar to discuss increased humanitarian aid to Gaza with officials.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party called a general strike across the West Bank following the deaths in Jenin.
Israeli forces restricted access to Ramallah, where the Palestinian government is based, following a shooting near an Israeli settlement in the area yesterday morning, Palestinian media reported.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said a man, 30, was killed on the road to Ofra, a settlement north of Ramallah. More than 520 Palestinians were killed in raids by Israeli security forces and settler attacks in the West Bank last year, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, at least 41 people were killed in 2023 in Palestinian militant attacks in Israel and the West Bank, Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said.
The Jenin refugee camp has been a particular focus of Israeli military campaigns over the past year, with Israel claiming that the camp is home to armed factions responsible for committing or plotting attacks on Israelis.
Apache helicopters have been sent during raids on the densely populated camp, where about 14,000 people live.
A drone strike killed five Palestinians in Jenin in mid-December, while at least 10 were killed in a similar strike in November during the biggest raid on the camp in several months.