Since the beginning of the year, at least 125 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, a Ukrainian woman and an Italian have been killed in violence related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse based on official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
Two Palestinian youths were shot dead by Israeli forces on Wednesday in the northern occupied West Bank, as announced by the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Israeli army.
And the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced, “The martyrdom of the two young men, Ahmed Jamal Tawfiq Assaf (19 years old) and Rani Walid Ahmed Qatanat (24 years old), by the Israeli occupation forces, in Qabatiya, Jenin Governorate,” in the northern West Bank, at the hands of the Israeli forces.
For its part, the Israeli army said that “during an arrest operation in the village of Qabatiya near Jenin, two Palestinian terrorists opened fire from inside a car at IDF forces.”
He added that the Israeli soldiers “responded by shooting at the two terrorists, killing them,” noting that “after combing the terrorists’ car, an M16 weapon and a pistol were found.”
On Tuesday, Israel launched raids on the Gaza Strip targeting the Islamic Jihad movement, killing 13 people, including women and children.
Twelve Palestinians, including Islamic Jihad members and four children, were killed, raising fears of a new cycle of violence.
Since the beginning of the year, at least 125 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, a Ukrainian woman and an Italian have been killed in violence related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a count compiled by Agence France-Presse based on official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
A state of anticipation and waiting prevails among Israeli circles, especially after the Islamic Jihad movement announced its intention to “respond” to the series of raids carried out by Israel that resulted in the killing of military leaders.
The leader of the Islamic Jihad movement and its spokesman, Dawood Shehab, had confirmed, “The resistance considers that all cities and settlements in the Zionist depth will be under its fire.”
The Jihad movement said, “All scenarios and options are open to the resistance to respond to the crimes of the occupation.”
The military operation in Gaza comes after a series of security tensions during the past weeks, the latest of which less than a week ago was an escalation between Israel and the Islamic Jihad movement that ended in a truce after external interventions.