Bethlehem and Jerusalem
CNN
—
At least six Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on Tuesday, marking the deadliest day of violence in the occupied West Bank this year, as a CNN analysis of official Palestinian data showed.
Five people have been killed in Israeli attacks in the old city of Nablus, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israeli live-fire killed a sixth person in Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah, as Palestinian protesters took to the streets in response to military operations in Nablus, the ministry added.
About 20 people were injured in the attacks in Nablus, the ministry said.
Israel said it has targeted Lions Den, a new militant group that has emerged in Nablus this year, and has killed at least two Israeli soldiers.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has denounced Tuesday’s killing as a “war crime” and told the US that Israel’s He called for the “invasion” to stop, said his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudineh.
Commenting on the Nablus attack, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said: “Our goal is to inflict serious and lasting damage to terrorism and its agents in Jenin and Nablus and elsewhere where terrorist nests grow. It happened and is still going on,” he said. He added that the head of a militant group in Lion’s Den and other militants were assassinated in the raid and that “the terrorist lab at Lion’s Den was severely damaged.”
In a joint statement posted on Twitter, the Israeli Defense Forces, the Israeli Security Service and the Israeli Police said the raid had taken place on a hideout in the old city of Nablus, which was used by Lions operatives as a headquarters and explosives manufacturing site. Den added that the group was responsible for the shooting attack that killed an Israeli soldier, an attempt to carry out the attack in Tel Aviv that was thwarted by Israeli police, and the installation of an explosive device at a gas station.
Israeli security forces “detonated an explosives manufacturing site” during the raid, the statement said, adding that “dozens of Palestinians burned tires and threw rocks at the troops. [Israeli] Troops responded with live ammunition at the armed suspects who were firing at them. ”
The Palestinian National Army, which is affiliated with political and popular groups, announced on Tuesday a general strike in cities and villages in the West Bank. Strikes affect critical services such as schools, universities, and courts.
This year marks the highest death toll in the West Bank for Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers since 2015.
It was also the deadliest year since 2015 for Israelis and foreigners killed in attacks by Palestinians.
