Israeli raid at Jenin kills 6 militants
09 Mar 2023 12:00:42
Jenin, Mar 09: Six Palestinians were killed during a raid by Israeli armed forces at a refugee camp in West Bank. The attack took place on Tuesday afternoon at the crowded refugee camp on western Jenin's outskirts. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) carried out an operation to find the Palestinian gunman responsible for killing two Israeli brothers in the West Bank town of Huwara last week.
The Israeli army identified the attacker as Abd al-Fattah Hussein Ibrahim Gharusha, a 49-year-old member of Hamas, adding that he had been eliminated and two of his sons arrested during a simultaneous operation in the nearby Nablus city.
The refugee camp had remained tense following the killing of Israeli settlers in Huwara. The targeted attack spurred a violent response from Israelis living in the area. According to the Guardian newspaper, about 400 people stormed Huwara and three surrounding villages, damaging dozens of homes and businesses, setting hundreds of cars alight, and killing one man. The violence, described as one of the worst against Palestinians– horrified people on both sides of the green line and drew international condemnation. The Israeli army said it used shoulder-launched missiles during its operation and claimed local armed fighters shot at troops from an ambulance. According to the Palestinian health ministry, among the six killed, five were men in their 20s and one man of 49, identified as Abdel Fattah Kharousha.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu through a video message praised the Israeli forces for eliminating “the abominable terrorist who murdered [the brothers] in cold blood". "Our brave warriors operated surgically in the heart of the murderers' den,” he was quoted as saying by BBC.
A spokesman for the Palestinian presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, blamed the Israeli government for "this dangerous escalation", and accused it of waging "all-out war". Tuesday’s military raid comes amidst an Israeli campaign that has been happening for the past year in the West Bank that the army says targets militants planning attacks against Israelis.