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Israeli army forces killed at the least 5 Palestinian fighters close to the town of Jericho within the occupied West Financial institution on Monday, throughout a firefight that the Israeli Military mentioned started after troopers sought to arrest gunmen accused of not too long ago trying an assault at a close-by Israeli settlement.
Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, later mentioned that the 5 males had been members of its armed wing, in a uncommon acknowledgment of the group’s armed exercise contained in the West Financial institution, the place it has not too long ago stored a low profile.
The deaths close to Jericho introduced the variety of Palestinians killed within the occupied West Financial institution because the begin of the yr to greater than 40, most of them throughout gun battles that broke out throughout Israeli operations to arrest members of armed Palestinian teams.
That toll constitutes the deadliest begin to a yr for Palestinians within the West Financial institution up to now decade and a half, drawing comparisons with the violence of the early years of this century, when a Palestinian rebellion, referred to as the second intifada, left roughly 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis lifeless.
Seven Israelis have additionally been killed because the begin of the yr, all throughout a mass capturing on Jan. 27 by a Palestinian attacker in East Jerusalem — the deadliest assault within the metropolis since 2008.
A New Surge of Israeli-Palestinian Violence
Israeli officers have mentioned that the Israeli dying toll this yr might have been far increased if two Palestinians, each carrying assault rifles, had not aborted an tried assault a day later at a restaurant in an Israeli settlement south of Jericho, a Palestinian metropolis within the east of the occupied West Financial institution, near the border with Jordan.
Video circulating on social media of the episode appeared to point out two males with assault rifles arriving on the restaurant earlier than instantly retreating; Israeli officers mentioned one in all their weapons malfunctioned.
The Israeli Military mentioned that its raid on Monday morning on a Palestinian neighborhood adjoining to the settlement was an try and seize the 2 males and different members of their cell. At the least 5 Palestinians had been killed throughout an ensuing gunfight, an Israeli safety official mentioned.
Israeli troopers took the our bodies with them after the raid, later informing Palestinian officers of their identities.
The Palestinian Well being Ministry mentioned that three others had been injured within the gun battle. The Israeli Military circulated {a photograph} of 5 assault rifles that it mentioned Israeli troopers had taken from Palestinians on the scene.
Tensions had been already excessive within the West Financial institution amid rising Palestinian anger on the entrenchment of the Israeli occupation, which started when Israel captured the territory from Jordan through the Arab-Israeli Conflict of 1967.
A whole lot of Israeli settlements have since been constructed there, curbing Palestinian hopes of sovereignty, and resulting in the emergence of a two-tier authorized system that tries settlers in civilian courts and Palestinians in army ones.
In response to that deadlock, new teams of younger Palestinian fighters have emerged up to now yr, a few of which have been unusually lively in putting Israeli targets. Their members are indignant at each Israel and their leaders within the Palestinian Authority, the semiautonomous physique that administers Palestinian areas within the West Financial institution and which many Palestinians understand as working too intently with Israeli officers.
Acutely aware of that notion, the authority partially suspended its coordination with the Israeli safety institution final month — a relationship that has helped to curb spasms of previous violence.
After initially avoiding claiming direct connection to the incident, Hamas introduced late Monday afternoon that the 5 slain fighters had been members of its armed wing. Although dominant in Gaza, Hamas has in recent times stored a decrease profile within the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution, the place Palestinian areas like Jericho are dominated by Fatah, a secular political motion.
Amid the present surge of violence, Hamas has beforehand averted claiming direct accountability for assaults, leery of scary Israeli reprisals on Gaza. However a direct connection between violence within the West Financial institution and the Hamas management might danger drawing Gaza into the struggle.
Hiba Yazbek and Myra Noveck contributed reporting.
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