Israeli-palestinian violence simmers with raids, clashes
President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing of a teenager and Israel’s raids in the West Bank, where dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces this year
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager on Thursday during clashes in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, the latest in a string of deadly incidents that have stoked fears of an escalation.
Violence in the West Bank has surged in recent months as Israel has intensified raids following a spate of lethal Palestinian street atacks in its cities.
The Israeli military said its soldiers came under fire around Jenin, an area of frequent incursions, while operating at the houses of Palestinians involved in a Wednesday clash that let an Israeli officer and two Palestinian gunmen dead.
“Armed suspects hurled explosive devices and Molotov cocktails and fired toward the soldiers. In response, the soldiers fired toward the suspects. Hits were identified,” the military said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the death of a 17-year-old.
President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing and Israel’s raids in the West Bank, where dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces this year.
Us-sponsored Palestinian statehood talks with Israel collapsed in 2014. Since then, the domestic credibility of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which has limited self-government in the West Bank, has waned.
“Violence is violence. We want everyone to do more, we want the Palestinian Authority to do more, the Palestinian security forces to do more to prevent it,” US Ambassador Tom Nides told Israeli Kan radio.
A spokesperson for Abbas said Israel was responsible for the violence.
“The US administration must pressure the Israeli government to stop its aggression, rather than look to justify Israel’s crimes while holding the Palestinian Authority responsible,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.
Israel says it has no choice but to operate in militant strongholds like Jenin.
“We want the Palestinian Authority to act decisively against terrorism,” Israel’s National Security Council head Eyal Hulata told a security conference in Tel Aviv.
“In periods in which the Authority and the (Palestinian) security did this effectively, Israel was not required to undertake such extensive activity.”
Palestinian officials say Israel’s actions are weakening the Palestinian Authority and that stability can only prevail once the occupation ends.
Israeli forces killed a 17-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian officials said, as troops operated in the area a day ater an atack killed a military officer.
The Israeli military said it opened fire on suspects who threw explosives at troops.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Odai Salah, 17, was shot in the head, although it did not specify the exact circumstances behind his death.
The Israeli military said forces were operating in the hometown of two Palestinian gunmen who killed the Israeli officer in a shootout on Wednesday and were then shot and killed by Israeli soldiers.
The military said Palestinians threw firebombs at troops who were preparing the gunmen’s homes for possible demolition and making arrests in the village of Kufr Dan, near the city of Jenin, a bastion of armed struggle against Israel.
The troops fired at and struck some of the Palestinians, the military said. Israel says it demolishes the homes of atackers as a way to deter future violence, while critics say the tactic amounts to collective punishment.
Israel has been carrying out nightly arrest raids in West Bank cities, towns and villages since a spate of atacks against Israelis in the spring killed 19 people.
Israeli fire has killed dozens of Palestinians during that time, making it the deadliest year in the occupied territory since 2016.
The Israeli military says the vast majority of those killed were militants or stone-throwers who endangered the soldiers.
But several civilians have also been killed during Israel’s months long operation, including a veteran journalist and a lawyer who apparently drove unwitingly into a batle zone.
Local youths who took to the streets in response to the invasion of their neighbourhoods have also been killed.
Israel has rounded up scores of Palestinians, holding many without trial or charge in what’s known as administrative detention.