Israeli Troops Kill 2 Palestinians in West Bank
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israeli forces shot dead at least two Palestinians on Monday when heavy clashes erupted during an operation to destroy the West Bank home of an alleged attacker.
Jamal Lafi, head of the Qalandiya camp's popular committee, told AFP that "a large force from the Israeli army invaded the camp from all sides after midnight."
Israeli forces shot three Palestinians, with two confirmed dead by Palestinian hospital sources. Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner spoke of a third death, but Palestinian hospital sources had not confirmed it.
Palestinian medics identified those killed as Ahmed al-Ayesh, 28 and a father of three, and Laith Manasra, 21.
The home on a floor of a larger building was demolished seemingly with explosives, with crumbled concrete later piled on the ground and onlookers gathering to view it.
Hundreds also gathered as the funeral for the two Palestinians killed began nearby.
Adnan al-Husseini, the Palestinian governor of Jerusalem (al-Quds), blamed Israel's occupation for the violence.
"I am sure if they are continuing with these processes there will be reactions like this," he said.
Tensions in the occupied territories have dramatically escalated since the Israeli regime’s imposition of restrictions in August on the entry of Palestinian worshipers to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds.
Palestinians are angry at increasing violence by Israeli settlers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the latter’s attacks on Palestinian properties, saying that the Tel Aviv regime seeks to change the status quo of the compound.
Last month, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called the recent spate of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds an Intifada (uprising) against the Tel Aviv regime.
Nearly 90 Palestinians have been killed in the recent escalation of violence since the start of October.
