Jerusalem (EFE)
Although Israeli raids in the West Bank have been carried out almost daily for more than a year, today’s raid in Jenin has been particularly violent, with fire being exchanged for several hours.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health assured that among the three dead there is a child under 15 years of age, and among the wounded – of which at least 17 have gunshot wounds – there is a girl “with a critical head injury”.
An Israeli Army spokesman confirmed the military operation in Jenin, whose objective was to “arrest two suspects”, and assured that during the raid “there was a massive exchange of fire between the forces and armed militiamen”.
“A large number of explosive devices were thrown at the Israeli forces, who responded with fire, and as security forces were leaving the city, a military vehicle was hit by an explosive device,” the same source added.
For its part, the Army deployed helicopters to open fire from the air against the Palestinians, something that had not happened since the early 2000s, during the Second Intifada, when Israel used them in special circumstances.
The Jenin Battalion, which brings together various militias linked to different Palestinian factions in the refugee camp, confirmed that they responded “to the aggression of the occupation”.
The Palestinian government accuses Israel of “open war” and calls an emergency meeting
The Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hussein al-Sheikh, today accused Israel of waging “a fierce and open war” against the Palestinian people and announced that his government has called an emergency meeting in the wake of the raid on Jenin.
In a statement, the Sheikh announced that “unpublished decisions” will be made at the emergency meeting, which will be chaired by Mahmoud Abbas.
“The occupying forces are waging a ferocious and open war against the Palestinian people from a political, security and economic point of view. We are in the midst of a comprehensive battle on all fronts that requires the unity of our people in the face of this aggression,” said the Palestinian leader.
The events of this “bloody morning” have also been condemned by the Prime Minister, Mohamed Stayeh, who vowed to “continue to face these attacks” and expressed the support of the entire government to “our people in Jenin”.
The occupied West Bank is experiencing its highest peak of violence since the Second Intifada (2000-2005), with 128 Palestinians killed so far this year, many of them militants but also civilians, including 22 minors.
Most of the victims have been recorded in armed clashes with Israeli troops, which have intensified their raids in the area, especially in the Nablus and Jenin area.