(Nablus) Israeli gunfire injured seven Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, with the Israeli army claiming to be operating in the area.
Six people with minor injuries from live ammunition were admitted to the government hospital in Jenin and a seventh wounded in a nearby hospital, after an Israeli military raid, according to the ministry.
The IDF said in a short statement around 2:50 p.m. (7:50 a.m. EST) that it was carrying out an operation in the Jenin Palestinian refugee camp, without further details.
The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
Located in the Palestinian autonomous zone, Jenin and its refugee camp are a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups. The area is regularly targeted by Israeli military raids generally presented as “counter-terrorist operations” by Israel, which accuses the Palestinian Authority of doing nothing to bring these organizations to heel.
Since the start of the year, 25 Palestinians have been killed in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Jenin, where Israeli raids usually result in clashes with young stone-throwers or members of armed groups.
Conflict-related violence has seen a marked upsurge since one of the most right-wing governments in Israel’s history, led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, took office in late December.
Since the beginning of the year, this violence has claimed the lives of at least 96 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian, according to an AFP count compiled from official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
These statistics include, on the Palestinian side, combatants and civilians, including minors, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, including minors, and three members of the Arab minority.
