Israel kills two in West Bank
Two Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli occupation soldiers in separate incidents in the West Bank.
The latest victim, who was identified as Riad Abu Shallal, 15, was killed on Sunday during clashes with Israeli soldiers at the funeral of Muhammed Ouais who had been shot dead only hours earlier by troops.
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli forces raided the Balata refugee camp near Nablus and clashed with its residents, killing Ouais and injuring several others, our correspondent in the West Bank reported.
Ouais, a member of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades movement, had been on an Israeli wanted list.
“Ouais, 19, opened fire at the soldiers when they headed towards a mosque in the camp,” said the Aljazeera correspondent. “The soldiers shot back, killing him with a bullet in the neck,” he said.
“The Israeli invasion of Nablus, particularly Balata refugee camp and the Old City, is still going on,” said the correspondent.
An Israeli military spokesman told reporters that forces returned fire after coming under attack from two Palestinians during a patrol in the northern West Bank camp. At least one person was hit, the spokesman said.
Ouais’ death brought the overall toll since the start of the Palestinian Intifada in September 2000 to 3791, including 2837 Palestinians and 886 Israelis.
Israel on high alert
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Israel has poured troops into |
Meanwhile, Israel was on high alert after the killing of three Palestinians in an air strike near Gaza City.
Police reinforcements were deployed in large numbers along the Green Line which separates Israel from the West Bank in an attempt to prevent any infiltrations by would-be Palestinian fighters after the Israeli helicopter strike in which an Islamic Jihad military chief was killed, security sources said.
The main Erez border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel was closed, preventing thousands of Palestinians from travelling to their work in Israel or in a neighbouring industrial zone.
An Israeli military spokesman said the strike targeted “a
vehicle carrying senior Islamic Jihad terrorists who were
responsible for planning a number of terror attacks against Israeli civilian and military targets.”