A young Palestinian man has lost his life and two others sustained injuries after Israeli military forces and undercover units raided a refugee camp in the eastern part of the West Bank, as violence continues to grip occupied Palestine.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 20-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim Oweidat “succumbed to critical wounds sustained by live bullets to the head” when Israeli troops stormed the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, situated in the Jordan Valley and three kilometers (1.8 miles) southwest of Ariha, early on Tuesday.
Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli forces were seeking to arrest local resident Muhammad Abdullah Tariq and his son Hamza.
The sources added that the raid sparked clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces, who fired live rounds, rubber-coated bullets, tear gas canisters, and stun grenades to disperse the protesting crowd.
Medical sources in Ariha confirmed that the soldiers shot three Palestinians with live fire – two in the lower extremities and one in the head.
On Monday, Secretary-General of the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad resistance movement Ziad al-Nakhala said the Palestinian people are more energetic than ever before in their confrontation with the Zionist regime.
Nakhala made the remarks in a conference dubbed “Palestine, the Central Issue of Islamic Ummah,” which was held in the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a.
“Our nation is faced with the Zionist regime’s onslaught, which seeks to Judaize al-Quds and create new realities on the ground,” he said, adding, “The Palestinian nation is creating new equations in its confrontation with the Zionist regime.”
He said the conference was another proof of Yemen’s support for the Palestinian cause and that the aggressors in Yemen are approaching the Zionist regime despite its Judaization moves and destruction of the Palestinian nation’s identity.
“The Zionists use military force and, under the guise of international organizations, exploit the compromising Arab countries that have recognized the legitimacy of this occupying regime. They also cause conflicts with the Palestinian people in order to take advantage of them,” the secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad movement said.
Nakhala said Palestinian people are facing plots by an enemy that has never ceased any efforts to dominate al-Quds through the falsification of history and the massacre of people in al-Aqsa Mosque.
Hamas: West Bank is a breeding ground for anti-Israeli operations
Meanwhile, a senior member of the Hamas resistance movement described the occupied West Bank as the breeding ground for Palestinian operations against the Israeli regime, stressing the need for resistance by all means and methods.
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“The era of attacks against our Palestinian brethren and sisters is over,” said Zaher Jabarin, a member of the Hamas political bureau. “The occupying Israeli regime is a bogus entity.”
He noted that intermediaries have been informed of the red lines to defend the sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of occupied al-Quds.
Jabarin added, “Our basic request is an end to the occupation of our lands. We want to live in security and peace, but not at the expense of our dignity or our sanctities.”
The senior Hamas official then called on Muslim nations to play a key role in securing the cessation of the Israeli regime’s occupation, saying, “It is now fairly clear to the occupying Israeli regime that the Palestinian nation is firmly united in its struggle. The Gaza Strip is ready for another open confrontation, and it could happen at any time. West Bank is a dangerous place for Israel as described by the regime’s authorities.”
Jabarin highlighted that a general framework concerning a prisoner exchange deal with Israel has been submitted to mediators.
“Israel is not serious about implementing a prisoner swap deal. The Hamas leadership is utterly determined to seek the end of Palestinian prisoners’ incarceration,” he said.
