Israel Strikes In West Bank, Killing Five Palestinians

On Wednesday, Israeli strikes killed five persons in the occupied West Bank, four of whom were in a refugee camp, said both emergency services and the Israeli army.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that an Israeli strike killed four individuals in the northern city of Tulkarem.

“Palestine Red Crescent teams transport four martyrs from inside Tulkarem camp due to the occupation’s bombardment”, the organization said in a statement.

An administrator at the camp verified that the men were slain during the strike.

“The camp is besieged by aircraft and heavy numbers of the Israeli army, and tanks”, said Faisal Salama, the camp’s commander.

In a separate incident in the Balata refugee camp, the army said Ahmed Abdullah Abu Shalal, a Palestinian militant, was killed in an air strike, preventing a terrorist attack he was planning.

He was responsible for several terrorist attacks during the last year, including one in annexed east Jerusalem, according to the army.  It stated that Abu Shalal was slain as a result of intelligence of his cell’s intentions of carrying out an imminent terrorist attack.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza on October 7, the West Bank has seen unparalleled violence, dating back to the second Palestinian uprising, or intifada, which lasted from 2000 to 2005.

Since 1967, Israel has occupied the West Bank, which is home to around three million Palestinians.

The land, excluding annexed east Jerusalem, is home to around 490,000 Israelis who reside in settlements that are deemed illegal under international law.

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