In The West Bank, Israeli Troops Murder Two Palestinians.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, two Palestinians were murdered on Saturday during an Israeli army operation in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli soldiers opened fire on the two young men “during an attack on the town of Jaba, south of Jenin” in the northern West Bank, according to the ministry.
The circumstances surrounding their deaths were not further described.
In a statement, the extremist Islamic Jihad group denounced the deaths and referred to the two men as “heroic martyrs” who belonged to the organization.
A despicable assassination operation by the “occupation troops” was described as what led to their deaths when they attempted to interfere.
In a short statement, the Israeli army said that while conducting “counterterrorism action” close to the hamlet, “suspects discharged live fire” at them from a passing car.
“Live fire was used by the troops in response. Hits were discovered,” it said, noting that no Israeli troops were believed to have been hurt.
A white automobile with bullet holes in the driver’s side windscreen was seen by an AFP photographer in Jaba.
The vehicle’s back was totally destroyed when it collided with a construction site structure.
Ezzedine Bassem Hamamra, 24, and Amjad Adnan Khaliliya, 23, were the two young men slain, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
According to the ministry, a third Palestinian, 19-year-old Yazen Samer Jaabari, passed away from his wounds after being shot by Israeli soldiers earlier this month.
According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, he was injured during an Israeli army operation on January 2 in the town of Kafr Dan, close to Jenin, during which two other Palestinians were murdered.
The new killings increase the total number of Palestinians murdered in violence in the West Bank, which Israel has controlled since 1967, to 12 so far this year.
Following a spate of fatal strikes in Israel last year, Israeli soldiers have conducted almost daily operations in the West Bank.
According to an AFP count, there were at least 200 Palestinians and 26 Israelis murdered during the spike in violence last year in Israel and the West Bank.
The West Bank was where more than 150 of the deaths occurred.
