3 Palestinians Killed In Israeli Raid, General Strike Called
Facts
- On Thursday, businesses, schools, and facilities across the West Bank city of Jenin conducted a general strike. The strike was called in mourning for three Palestinians who died during armed clashes as Israeli forces carried out a dawn raid in the Jenin refugee camp.
- Tarek al-Damj and Sedki Zakarneh, who were reportedly affiliated with the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, as well as the 46-year-old Atta Shalabi were killed in heavy gunfire. Though the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has claimed that all three individuals were armed, allegedly only one of them was found with a gun.
- A local wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which later claimed al-Damj as a member, confirmed it opened fire on Israeli troops and hurled explosives at them when they entered the city and the refugee camp to arrest three Palestinians suspected of terror activity.
- Local reports accuse Israeli forces of injuring at least two other Palestinian men — one reportedly in serious condition — and shooting at Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances during the raid.
- In a separate incident near Ramallah on Thursday night, Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian youth and wounded three others after Palestinians were allegedly throwing rocks and paint bottles at Israeli cars.
- More than 140 Palestinian Arabs have reportedly been shot dead by Israeli forces while attacks carried out by Israeli Arabs or Palestinian Arabs have claimed the lives of at least 31 people so far in 2022 — making it the deadliest year since 2006.
Sources: Palestinian Information Center, Haaretz, Times of Israel, Al Jazeera, ABC, and All Israel.
Narratives
- Pro-Palestine, as provided by Middle East Eye. Israel has ramped up its repression of Palestinians in the West Bank, with these latest killings illustrating a violent trend. Occupation forces that raided the city and the refugee camp provoked confrontations with local Palestinian residents and killed three men at point-blank range, following their abhorrent "shoot-to-kill policy."
- Pro-Israel, as provided by i24. Over 2.5K Palestinian suspects have been detained so far during Israeli counterterrorism raids, including three in this latest Jenin raid. While the deaths are tragic, it's senseless to claim that the IDF intentionally causes conflicts and kills local residents — especially when those killed are likely to be involved with a militant group that openly admitted its fighters had engaged in clashes.