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SvennoJ on 27 August 2024
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Israeli military storms Tulkarem hours after deadly drone attack

Israeli military vehicles have driven through the streets of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank as reconnaissance aircraft flew overhead at low altitudes, the Wafa news agency reports.

No arrests were reported during the raid, which came hours after an Israeli drone attack killed five Palestinians, including two children, in the nearby Nur Shams refugee camp.


A man waves a Palestinian flag near Israeli army armoured vehicles at the entrance to the Tulkarem refugee camp on Thursday


Two children among five killed in Israeli raid on Nur Shams

The Wafa news agency is reporting that two Palestinian teens were among the five people killed in the Israeli attack on the refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

The agency identified them as Adnan Jaber, 15, and Mohammed Ahmad Elayyan, 16. The other victims were Mohannad Qarawi, 19, Jibril Ghassan Jibril, 20, and Mohammed Ali Yusif, 49.

The Quds News Network posted a photo and video of the aftermath of the attack, showing huge clouds of smoke billowing over the refugee camp.


Strike called in Tulkarem over Nur Shams attack

The Wafa news agency is reporting that Palestinians have declared a general strike in the Tulkarem governorate on Tuesday to mourn the killings in the Nur Shams refugee camp. The call came as Hamas condemned the attack and called on Palestinians in the West Bank to intensify their struggle against Israel’s occupation.

There have been about 50 Israeli air attacks in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza – the vast majority of them in Tulkarem, Jenin and Nablus.


More on the deadly settler attack in occupied West Bank

The Wafa news agency has additional details of the lethal assault on Wadi Rahal village. The agency, citing the Health Ministry, identified the Palestinian man who was killed in the attack as Khalil Salem Khalawi.

It said the 40-year-old died of his wounds after Israeli settlers attacked homes near the village’s boys school and opened fire at Palestinians living there. Three others were also “moderately wounded” in the attack, Wafa said.

Hamdi Ziyada, the head of the Wadi Rahal village council, told Wafa that Israeli forces raided the village “to provide protection for the settlers and fired sound bombs and toxic gas” at residents.

Israeli settlers have carried out 1,334 attacks in the West Bank since the start of the year and killed at least seven Palestinians, Wafa added.


Israeli air raids, settler attacks increasing in the West Bank

Medical sources tell us they’ve received the bodies and body parts of five Palestinians who were killed in the Israeli air strike on the Nur Shams refugee camp.

We know that the Israeli forces have been looking to target Abu Shuja’a, who has been one of the leaders if not the main leader of the Tulkarem and the Nur Shams Battalion in the refugee camp, and he has survived several assassination attempts.

We also know that one of those killed [Jibril Ghassan Jibril] had been released as part of the captives exchange deal that took place last November.

All in all, we’ve been seeing an increase in the use of Israeli air strikes against Palestinian targets in the occupied West Bank. UN figures show more than 50 air strikes, mostly by drones and most of them centred in the areas of Jenin, Tulkarem and some of them in Nablus to the north of the occupied West Bank. These attacks have been happening around residential places and homes, affecting many other Palestinians.

At the same time, we’ve been seeing settlers attacking Palestinians in a village near Bethlehem. This comes as Palestinians have been already seeing a lot of settler attacks.

These assaults have been skyrocketing since the war started and Palestinians say the sense of impunity that Israeli settlers feel is allowing them to continue attacking Palestinians and their homes.


More on settler attack on Wadi Rahal

We’ve seen a video of the Israeli settler attack on Palestinians in the village of [Wadi Rahal]. Dozens and dozens of settlers attacked the village, killing a 40-year-old Palestinian. Usually [during such settler attacks], Palestinians rush to protect their land and their loved ones. But they’re ultimately overpowered, not only because of the number of Israeli settlers, but because the settlers are often accompanied by Israeli soldiers giving them protection.

Another important element is that Israeli settlers are often armed. Since the war started, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has been lifting restrictions [on arms], allowing Israelis to access them more easily. That’s why we’ve seen the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers increase.