Palestinian officials reported that on Friday, Israeli forces opened fire in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, killing one Palestinian man and injuring at least eight others.
Israeli forces kill Palestinian: According to the Israeli military, soldiers in the city of Tulkarm engaged suspects who shot at them, hurled rocks and explosives, and blocked roadways. The soldiers returned fire, and “hits were confirmed.”
Numerous military vehicles reportedly sustained damage, while there were no reported injuries to the forces.
According to Amin Khader, the director of the Thabet Thabet Government Hospital in Tulkarm, the man who suffered fatal injuries had a gunshot wound to the chest, and at least eight other individuals sustained injuries as well.
The Fatah party, which holds control over the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, identified the deceased individual as Mahmoud Jarrad.
In the past 15 months, the occupied West Bank has experienced escalated violence due to heightened Israeli incursions, Jewish settlers’ raids in Palestinian towns, and street attacks by Palestinians.
According to a UN count, fighting has claimed the lives of at least 196 Palestinians and 24 Israeli citizens since January. In the West Bank, one of the territories Israel seized in a 1967 war, the Palestinians have only a limited amount of autonomy.
In that region, Israel exercises military authority over millions of Palestinians and has maintained the construction of settlements, deemed illegal by most nations despite Israel’s denial.
US-mediated negotiations to create a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem broke down in 2014 and don’t appear to be picking up again.