Conflicts & War

Palestinian killed in occupied West Bank and new day of border protests in Gaza

Jerusalem, Sept. 22 (EFE).- The Israeli army on Friday shot dead a Palestinian during a raid in the occupied West Bank and later attacked Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip after a new day of protests along the separation fence where at least 28 Palestinians were wounded by gunfire.

The man’s death was confirmed by the Palestinian Health Ministry, which identified him as Abdullah Abu Hassan.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Abu Hassan was wounded in clashes between residents of the village of Kafr Dan, west of the city of Jenin, and Israeli army troops operating in the area.

The Israeli army reported that “suspects opened fire and threw an explosive device” at its troops during a raid on the village, to which they responded by opening fire.

Throughout Friday, Palestinians staged several protests against the Israeli army in various parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, leading to clashes with troops.

Israeli forces stationed in the border area with the Gaza Strip, an enclave ruled by the Islamist group Hamas since 2007, used riot dispersal means and opened fire on the demonstrators, who numbered in the hundreds, according to local media.

An Israeli military spokesman said that “the Israel Defense Forces attacked three military posts of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,” using a drone and a tank.

Two of the posts bombed from the air were near the border where “violent riots were taking place and from which incendiary balloons were being launched,” a military statement added.

A spokesman for the Gaza health ministry said 28 Palestinians suffered varying degrees of injuries from Israeli army gunfire in response to demonstrations along the separation fence.

Israeli forces stationed in the border area with Gaza, an enclave ruled by the Islamist group Hamas since 2007, used riot dispersal means and opened gunfire on the demonstrators, who according to local media numbered in the hundreds.

THE DEADLIEST YEAR SINCE THE SECOND INTIFADA

Protests at the fence have intensified in recent days, reaching levels not seen in more than a year. On Friday last week, a demonstration similar to today’s also prompted an Israeli airstrike on a Hamas military outpost.

Israel and the West Bank are experiencing the deadliest year in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the Second Intifada (2000-2005), with 197 Palestinians killed in 2023. Some were militiamen and attackers, but civilians, including 36 minors, were also among the dead.

On the Israeli side, 32 people have been killed (mostly settlers), including five minors and four members of the security forces.

Over the past year, attacks by both Palestinians and Israeli settlers have increased, and new Palestinian armed groups have proliferated, especially in the northern West Bank, carrying out more attacks against Israeli targets in the occupied territories. EFE pd/ics/mcd

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