News Asia
2 Palestinian Gunmen Killed By Israeli Forces In The West Bank
(CTN NEWS) – RAMALLAH – On Saturday, Palestinian gunmen in the occupied West Bank were killed in what witnesses describe as a running skirmish sparked by an army raid outside a flashpoint town.
Following a wave of street attacks in Israeli cities last year, the military has increased sweeps in Jenin and the surrounding territories. The violence has further dimmed hopes for the restart of U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations that broke down in 2014.
Israeli troops allegedly engaged in combat with militants before morning, inflicting one casualty.
According to the witnesses, two further shooters joined him in driving away, and after loading him up with locals, they continued driving while being pursued by the army until they were shot.
People check a damaged car where two Palestinian militants were killed during an Israeli operation, near Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
According to a spokesperson for the army, troops opened fire on the automobile after coming under gunfire, but no Israelis were hurt. The car, which was involved in the event and ran into a wall, had bloodstains inside.
The two guys who died have been identified as members of the Palestinian extremist group Islamic Jihad.
One of them was also claimed by the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, an armed splinter group of Fatah, the political party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
A large crowd, including numerous gunmen who discharged guns into the air and made threats of retaliation, participated in the funeral procession for the two men in the town of Jaba, southwest of Jenin.
Palestinian checks damaged car where two militants were killed during an Israeli operation near Jenin in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, January 14, 2023. REUTERS/ Ali Sawafta
On Saturday, it was also reported that a third Islamic Jihad shooter, who had been hurt earlier in January during a firefight with the Israeli army, had died.
During the burials in Jaba, a shooter wearing an Islamic Jihad mask declared, “We are in terrible sorrow, but we will hit back twice as hard.”
According to Palestinian officials, 11 Palestinians, including three teenagers, have been slain in the raids in the first two weeks of 2023. The operations have not resulted in any deaths of Israeli soldiers.
Last week, a Palestinian was killed by gunfire after stabbing a Jewish settler in the West Bank.
RELATED CTN NEWS:
South Korea And Thailand To Boost ‘Soft Power Cooperation’
