5 Palestinians killed in West Bank as major Israeli military operation continues

Five Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli troops late Wednesday and early Thursday in the West Bank, according to Palestinian reports.

In Jenin, two Palestinians were killed and one seriously injured during clashes with the IDF on Thursday morning, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

According to unconfirmed reports, one of the Palestinians killed in Jenin was the brother of Ayman Kamaji, one of the prisoners who escaped from Gilboa prison last year and was captured following a nationwide manhunt.

Three Palestinians were also killed during Israeli security operations late Wednesday night in Silwad near Ramallah and outside Bethlehem.

The incidents took place during a large arrest operation carried out in several towns and villages in the West Bank since Wednesday morning, which sparked protests and exchanges of fire with live ammunition in several areas.

Near Bethlehem, troops raided the home of Al-Khader city mayor Yasser Sbaih and arrested his son on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities.

Freed convicts suspected of terrorist activities were also arrested in the Jerusalem area and in Ramallah during the past day.

Separately, an Israeli who entered the village of Husan in Bethlehem governorate with his vehicle was surrounded by Palestinian rioters who set his car on fire, according to a Maariv report. He managed to escape unscathed, the report notes.

The municipalities of Ramallah and Bethlehem announced a general strike on Thursday morning in response to the recent deaths of Palestinians, calling on the population “to increase their resistance with Israel”.

Meanwhile, Hamas carried out test rocket launches overnight, with terror group spokesman Hazen Qasem threatening Israel and calling on Palestinians in the West Bank to continue their armed resistance.

“The great revolution taking place in the West Bank and the continuous clashes with the occupation forces in all the cities of the West Bank are the expression of an intifada which will not end,” he said. “The Intifada will not be stopped by arrests or assassinations,” he added.

Fatah in the West Bank also called on the Palestinian public to go to sensitive areas on Thursday and “confront IDF forces and settlers throughout the West Bank”, according to Army Radio.

Arrest operations in the West Bank have become frequent since last week’s shooting in Tel Aviv that claimed the lives of three Israelis and was the latest in a series of deadly attacks in Israel.

On Wednesday, Hamas deputy political chief Saleh al-Arouri called for an escalation after Israeli counterterrorism troops detained Palestinian suspects in the West Bank town of Silwad – branded a ‘ticking time bomb’ by security officials – who were suspected of planning an imminent attack in Israel.

In separate incidents, six Palestinians were reportedly injured in clashes with the Israeli army in the village of Beita, near Nablus. The forces also entered the Palestinian towns of Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus and the villages of Urif, Kabatia and Jaba’, the army said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Emergency Service said 31 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli forces near the site of Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus on Wednesday morning. The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry later said one of them had died.

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