Israeli army soldiers detaining a Palestinian youth in Hebron on August 26, 2022. Photo: Reuters.
Two Palestinian teenagers were killed, and eleven other civilians were wounded during an Israeli army raid in the early hours of October 8 in Jenin, in the occupied West bank.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, teenagers Mahmoud al-Sous and Ahmad Daraghmeh were shot dead while protesting the Israeli army’s advance in the city of Jenin.
“During the activity, dozens of Palestinians hurled explosive devices and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers, who responded with live fire towards the armed suspects,” an Israeli army statement alleged.
Additionally, the spokesman of the Israeli army announced the conclusion of a joint raid with the Shin Bet intelligence service that resulted in the arrest of four Palestinians overnight and Saleh Abu Zeina in the morning of October 8.
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The statement accuses Abu Zeina of partaking in the armed resistance in the West bank, under the command of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, and carrying out several shooting operations against the occupation’s checkpoints.
The arrest of Saleh Abu Zeina is intended to pressure his brother Mohammed, a high ranking local commander from the PIJ.
Troops from elite Israeli Armed Forces unit Duvdevan, Egoz, Nahhal and the Border Guards participated in the operation. UAVs and Apache attack-helicopters patrolled the skies over Jenin to support the operation.
During the clashes, the Israeli army shot towards several journalists, injuring at least one who was reporting on the the ongoing raid.
According to local news, Mujahid Al-Saadi, Muhammed Abed, Jaafar and Nidal Shtayyeh, were part of the group of journalists that was evacuated from the scene.
Attacks on journalists is a normalized procedure by the Israeli army, whose actions sparked international condemnation after the murder of American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) issued a statement to condemn the Israeli aggression, voicing its concern of the escalation and accusing Israel of sabotaging the Palestinian national project.
Jenin city and its refugee camp have mourned 63 youths during 2022 in confrontations against the Israeli army. A total of 114 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in this year only.
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“It is the deadliest year in the occupied West Bank for more than seven years,” said Al Jazeera’s journalist in Palestine, Nida Ibrahim.
Earlier, on October 7, another two Palestinian teenagers were murdered in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank.
Adel Ibrahim Daoud was shot in the head by the Israeli army in Qalqilya, northern West Bank, while Mahdi Ladado was shot dead in the outskirts of Ramallah.
Remarkably, during the October 7 events, the Palestinian security forces tried to prevent Israeli soldiers from storming Bab al-Zawiya area in Hebron.
This rare incident comes in light of the discontent against the PA which has been growing in the West Bank due to its close security cooperation with Tel Aviv.
“The PA’s continued security coordination with the occupation will not discourage the Palestinian people in their armed resistance until liberation,” decried the the resistance factions in a statement in January.
