Image: APA/AFP/ZAIN JAAFAR
In addition, 102 people were injured, as the Ministry of Health in Ramallah announced on Wednesday. Six of them are in critical condition. A 72-year-old and a 16-year-old were among the dead.
The Israeli military only announced that there had been an operation in the city in the morning. At first there was no further information. Nablus is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians. According to reports, Israeli forces had surrounded a house in the city during a raid. This led to clashes with militant Palestinians. Eyewitnesses reported explosions and shots in the city.
A spokesman for the Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, said after the raid: “The patience of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza is coming to an end.” The militant Islamic Jihad also announced “a response to the brutal aggression” in Gaza. Both Palestinian organizations are also active in the West Bank.
The security situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories has long been extremely tense. Since the beginning of the year, nine Israelis and one Ukrainian have been killed in attacks by Palestinians. In the same period, 59 Palestinians lost their lives – they were shot in confrontations with the Israeli army or after their own attacks. There are also repeated reports of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, Israeli activists or soldiers.
Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. More than 600,000 Israeli settlers live there today. The Palestinians claim the territories for an independent state of Palestine with the Arab-influenced eastern part of Jerusalem as the capital.
Source: Nachrichten
