Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in Jerusalem and West Bank

Mohammad Ali, 17 and Aref Abdel Nasser Lahlouh, 20, were killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday.

Israeli forces film as paramedics wheel out of a building Palestinian man reportedly shot by Israeli security forces after he tried to make an attack against a soldier
Lahlouh and Ali were the 19th and 20th Palestinians to be killed by Israeli forces since the start of 2023 [Ahmad Gharabli/AFP]

Ramallah, occupied West Bank – Israeli forces have shot and killed two Palestinians, including a minor, in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the two as 17-year-old Mohammad Ali and 20-year-old Aref Abdel Nasser Lahlouh.

Ali was shot and killed on Wednesday afternoon by Israeli forces after they launched a large-scale raid in Shuafat refugee camp, which lies in occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli border police and special forces raided the camp and demolished the family home of Udai Tamimi, who killed an Israeli soldier in October.

Israeli forces killed Tamimi in a shootout after a 12-day manhunt.

Widespread confrontations broke out with Palestinian youth during Wednesday’s raid, which lasted several hours, during which Ali was shot and killed.

The second man killed on Wednesday, Lahloul, was shot dead after he allegedly attempted to carry out a stabbing attack.

Lahlouh hailed from the Jenin refugee camp but was killed in Qalqilya, near the illegal Israeli settlement of Kedumim.

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The Israeli army said the man tried to carry out a stabbing attack. Surveillance footage from the scene released by the Israeli national news agency showed a man emerging from his car and running towards soldiers before being shot and killed.

Footage from the scene, verified by Al Jazeera, shows Lahlouh lying on the ground after being shot.

Israeli police were seen shushing another Palestinian man who appeared to be having a panic attack after witnessing the killing.

 

The two killings on Wednesday bring the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the start of 2023 to 20, including five children.

The United Nations said 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2005, with at least 170 people killed including more than 30 children, and 9,000 others injured.

Since a string of attacks carried out by Palestinians in Israel that began in March, the Israeli army has launched a campaign called Operation Break the Wave, which has included near-daily raids, mass arrests and killings in the occupied West Bank with a focus on Jenin and Nablus, where Palestinian armed resistance has grown more organised over the past year.

Israeli forces have killed civilians confronting them during raids – as well as uninvolved bystanders and Palestinian fighters in targeted assassinations and armed clashes.

Israeli forces advance during clashes after Israeli forces destroy and seal off the family apartment of Uday Al-Tamimi
Israeli forces on Wednesday destroyed the family apartment of Udai Tamimi in Shuafat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

Individual attacks by Palestinians against Israeli soldiers and settlers also increased in the last period.

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Attacks committed by Palestinians in Israel and the occupied West Bank in 2022 killed 29 people, according to the Israeli foreign ministry.

Source: Al Jazeera

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