Israel kills West Bank Palestinians

Two rockets fired from Gaza hit southern Israel in apparent retaliation.

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Tareq Abu Ghali was one of the Palestinians killed in Nablus by Israeli forces [AFP]

Palestinian deaths

Nablus residents said that one of the men was a bystander killed by Israeli troops when he opened the door to his apartment, which lies next to the location of the raid.

The truce between Israel and Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, does not cover the West Bank.

The Islamic Jihad movement said that the killings will not pass without punishment.

In a statement, the group said that the truce does not mean Palestinians would sit silently. It called on different Palestinian factions to clarify their position regarding the latest israeli attack.

Lamis Andoni, Al Jazeera’s Middle East analyst, said: “The killings are a reminder that the truce in Gaza will remain shaky when it is not extended to include the West Bank.

“Israeli insistence on retaining freedom to conduct arrests and raids in the West Bank further undermines Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’ standing, and makes it difficult for Hamas to demand Palestinian fighters adhere to the truce in Gaza.”

Mortar attack

A mortar shell was also fired into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip the previous evening, the Israeli army said, in the first such incident since the truce came into effect.

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No one was hurt by the missile, which landed in the Nahal Oz area after being launched from the central Gaza Strip, officials said on Tuesday.

“We are familiar with a mortar shell that landed near the security fence in northern Gaza on the Israeli side,” an army spokeswoman said.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the reported incident on Monday evening, nor any confimation from Palestinian sources that such an incident took place.

Observers have said that both sides do not regard the incident as a violation of the ceasefire.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies

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