Palestinians: 6 killed in Israeli army raid in West Bank
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli troops on Wednesday moved into a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, setting off fighting that killed at least six Palestinians, including a 72-year-old man, Palestinian health officials said.
It was one of the deadliest incidents in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and raised the prospect of further bloodshed. The Hamas militant group, which rules the Gaza Strip, said “its patience is running out.”
The Israeli military gave few details about its operation in the northern city of Nablus. The city is known as a militant stronghold, and the army frequently operates there.
Palestinian officials said three of the dead on Wednesday were members of organized militant groups. But a 72-year-old man was also killed, There was no immediate word on whether the other two killed, both men in their 20s, belonged to armed groups.
Amateur video footage appeared to show Israeli troops operating in downtown Nablus, and army vehicles firing tear gas canisters.
Last month, Israeli troops killed 10 militants in a similar raid in the northern West Bank. Within days, lone Palestinian attackers killed 10 Israelis in Jerusalem.
In the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group issued a veiled threat.
“The resistance in Gaza is observing the enemy’s escalating crimes against our people in the occupied West Bank, and its patience is running out,” said Abu Obeda, a spokesman for the group.
The group has battled Israel to four wars since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, and Israeli officials have expressed concerns about rising tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in March.
At least 55 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year. Last year, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, making it the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Israel says that most of those killed have been militants but others — including youths protesting the incursions and other people not involved in confrontations — have also been killed. An AP tally has found that just under half of those killed belonged to militant groups.
Israel says the military raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks while the Palestinians view them as further entrenchment of Israel’s open-ended, 55-year occupation.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians seek for their hoped-for independent state.
