West News Wire: On Monday morning, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops during a raid in the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
The two were recognized as Palestinian fighters for the Lions’ Den, Muhammad Hallaq al-Qatouni and Muhammad Junaid Abu Bakr.
According to the army, Israeli soldiers conducted raids on two areas of the city in order to make arrests.
The Lions’ Den claimed in a statement that it was fighting off the raid by using force against Israeli troops.
Local media reported that on March 22, the Palestinian Authority (PA) released Al-Qatouni, a fighter sought by Israeli troops. Abu Bakr worked for Mahmoud Aloul, the vice leader of Fatah, the Palestinian organization that controls the PA. He was also a member of the Fatah-affiliated al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.
Speaking to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Ahmad Jibril, the head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Emergency and Ambulance Department in Nablus, said that at least 55 Palestinians were treated for inhaling tear gas during the raid.
The Israeli army said it arrested three people during the operation. It added that those killed and arrested were linked to two shootings in nearby Huwwara town last month that wounded two Israeli soldiers and a settler.
PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned the deadly Israeli raid in a statement, according to Wafa.
“The killings and crimes committed by the occupation soldiers and settlers do not stop until they start again. A policy embraced by murderous criminals,” Shtayyeh said.
Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces have killed at least 92 Palestinians in the deadliest start to a year since 2000, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
