Palestinian Officials Say Six Killed in West Bank Raid
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – At least five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli regime military operation in the West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry said that around 20 other people were injured in the operation. It added that a sixth Palestinian was shot dead in overnight clashes at the village of Nabih Saleh, north of the West Bank administrative center of Ramallah.
According to Palestinian sources, the 31-year-old suspected leader of the "Lions' Den" resistance group was killed in the raid.
Israel claims that the Lions' Den is responsible for the death of an Israeli soldier two weeks ago and a failed attack in Tel Aviv. Two days ago, a member of the group was killed in a bomb explosion remotely activated by the Israeli regime military.
Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas is establishing "urgent contacts in order to stop this aggression against our people," presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah said.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh warned that the violence would "plunge Palestine into escalation."
Israeli forces have recently been conducting overnight raids and killings in the northern occupied West Bank, mainly in the cities of Jenin and Nablus, where new groups of Palestinian resistance fighters have been formed.
At least 171 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the Israeli-occupied territories since the start of the year, including 51 in the besieged Gaza Strip during Israel’s three-day onslaught in August. This is the highest death toll in seven years.
