Two Palestinians killed in Jenin raise death toll to 17 since start of the year

Ahram Online , AFP , Thursday 19 Jan 2023

Two Palestinians were killed by gunfire early Thursday during an Israeli army raid in the flashpoint West Bank city of Jenin, according to the Palestinian health ministry, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation army gunfire since the start of the year to 17.

west bank, palestine
A Palestinian boy mourns by the bodies of Jawad Farid Bawaqna (R), 57, and Adham Mohammed Bassem Jabareen, 28, at the morgue of a hospital after they were killed by gunfire during an Israeli army raid in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin, on January 19, 2023. AFP

 

The ministry said Jawad Farid Bawaqta, 57, a high school teacher and a father of six children, was killed by a bullet to the chest, while Adham Mohammed Bassem Jabareen, 28, was hit in the upper abdomen by Israeli occupation fire.

The occupation army claimed that during "counterterrorism activity in the Jenin (refugee) camp, armed Palestinian gunmen fired heavily at the security forces, who responded with live fire. Hits were identified".

"Explosive devices were also hurled at the forces. The soldiers apprehended one wanted individual suspected of involvement in terrorist activity and confiscated an M16 rifle, rifle parts, military equipment, explosive materials and ammunition," and a soldier was "lightly injured during the operation and evacuated to a hospital for further medical treatment." the army added.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Prime Minister held the occupying state fully responsible for the continuation of these heinous crimes, which are committed by its soldiers, without the slightest regard for international laws and conventions, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

He also condemned the occupation forces' targeting of the Jenin government hospital which endangered the lives of patients and staff and called on the World Health Organization and all international human rights organizations to condemn this crime and to intervene to stop it.

Sources in Jenin said a large Israeli force raided the Jenin refugee camp to arrest activists and deployed snipers on rooftops during which heavy exchange of gunfire was reported. WAFA said.

Witnesses said Bawaqta was shot by a sniper outside his home in the middle of the camp while he was providing first aid to Jabarin after he was shot.

The occupation soldiers prevented Palestinian ambulances from reaching the injured forcing residents to transport them to the hospital in Jenin in their private cars. Both were pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital. WAFA added.

Three others were injured by live bullets in the camp and four were detained, including two siblings.

A general strike was declared in Jenin in mourning of the dead, who reached nine in the Jenin governorate out of a total of 17 killed to date by Israeli army gunfire since the start of this year.

Nearly 224 Palestinians were killed last year by Israeli occupation forces including 59 in the Gaza Strip, including more than 150 fatalities in the West Bank, making 2022 the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank in 18 years. according to Palestinian Health Ministry’s statistics.

A surge in violence in 2022 made it the deadliest year in the West Bank since United Nations records began in 2005.

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