Five Palestinians were killed on Sunday (September 26) in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces who launched an operation in the occupied West Bank to prevent attacks, according to Israeli officials.
Two Israeli soldiers, including an officer, were injured in the operation launched on Saturday evening by the army, special forces and the internal security service Shin Beth to dismantle a cell of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and arrest suspects, the army said in a statement. The Chief of Staff, General Aviv Kochavi, claimed in a video distributed to the press that “The operation was a success because it made it possible to avoid attacks”.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, three Palestinians were killed in the village of Biddu, northwest of Jerusalem, and two in Borquin, near Jenin, in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by the army. Israeli for over fifty years. “The sound of gunfire” started around 4 a.m., followed by “Strong explosions”said Ayed Shamasneh, a resident of the Biddu region.
According to an army statement, “During five simultaneous raids to capture terrorists, troops responded to live ammunition, killing five terrorists and arresting several others” in the sectors of Biddu and Borquin.
An investigation was also opened to determine whether the wounded Israeli soldiers had been “Victims of shooting by other soldiers”. A medical source at Ramban Hospital in Haifa where the two soldiers were admitted said their lives were not in danger.
Four Hamas operatives killed
Hamas, Israel’s nemesis in power in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, has confirmed the deaths of four members of its armed wing in Biddu. Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian armed group has also confirmed the death of one of its members, Osama al-Soboh. The latter was buried on Sunday. According to the Palestinian health ministry, the IDF still holds the remains of the four other Palestinians killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, on his way to New York where he is due to address the UN General Assembly on Monday, said the operation was intended to prevent “A terrorist attack”, according to a statement from his office. He said he brought a “Full support” to the soldiers and their superiors involved in the operation.
The presidency of the Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah in the West Bank, condemned in a statement a “Heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces”.
Clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians have increased in recent weeks in the West Bank, especially during Palestinian protests against Israeli colonization.
Israel and Hamas have fought four wars since 2008. The last one took place from May 10 to 21: two hundred and sixty Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza, according to local authorities. In Israel, rocket fire from Gaza left thirteen dead, including one soldier, according to police and army. The Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas and separated from the West Bank by Israeli territory, has been subjected for more than fifteen years to an Israeli blockade.