6 Palestinians killed in occupied West Bank
Jerusalem, Oct 25 (EFE).- At least six Palestinians were killed early Tuesday during clashes sparked after raids by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank, said Palestinian officials.
The Palestine health ministry said five Palestinians died in clashes with Israeli forces when security forces conducted a raid in Nablus city in the occupied West Bank.
The ministry said the dead Palestinians were between the ages of 26 and 35.
Some 20 people were wounded in the clashes, three of them seriously.
A young man died during another Israeli raid in a town near Ramallah.
Clashes broke out in Nablus when Israeli troops entered and destroyed a building.
The Israeli military did not immediately confirm the toll. But a spokesperson said the building in Nablus was used as a bomb factory by the so-called “Areen Al-Ossoud” — “The Lions’ Den.”
The “Areen Al-Ossoud” is a new militant group that claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on an Israeli soldier two weeks ago in the occupied territory.
“Israeli security forces raided a hideout apartment in the Kasbah of Nablus used as a headquarters and explosives manufacturing site by the main operatives of the ‘Lion’s Den’ terrorist group. The forces detonated the explosive manufacturing site,” the Israeli defense forces said in a statement.
Since the beginning of the year, 132 Palestinians have been killed in violence in the occupied West Bank alone.
In addition, 51 Palestinians were killed in the three-day escalation in August.
It is the highest death toll in the West Bank in nearly seven years, according to the UN, after the so-called “Knife Intifada” broke out in 2015.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has established “urgent contacts in order to stop this aggression against our people” in Nablus, his spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.
“All of this will have dangerous and destructive consequences.” EFE
Violence has escalated in recent months in the West Bank that Israel has occupied since 1967.
The Israeli military has stepped up operations in Nablus and Jenin since March this year after some deadly anti-Israeli attacks by Palestinian militant groups.
Some 22 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers have been killed this month alone.
ghs-ssk
