Israeli occupation forces killed three Palestinian youth and injured 10 others during a raid at a refugee camp in Jenin early on Friday, June 17. The three youths killed were sitting in a car which was surrounded by the Israeli forces who opened fire on them. The fourth person in the car was hospitalized.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) claimed in a statement issued later that the three Palestinians, Yousef Nasser Salah (23), Baraa Lahlouh (24) and Laith Abu Srour (24), were killed in cold blood by undercover Israeli army forces in a midnight raid.
As per news reports, at least 30 Israeli military vehicles surrounded the camp in Jenin before they shot at the vehicle after claiming that it was carrying weapons.
Midnight raids by Israeli forces in Jenin have increased following an uptick in the armed resistance by Palestinians since the beginning of the year. The raids have led to the killing of at least 60 Palestinians so far this year, according to the Palestinians Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, an internal probe conducted by the Israeli forces confirmed that its personnel were responsible for “misconduct” at the funeral procession of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May. However, as per a report in Haaretz, the Israeli police department has decided not to take any action against those responsible.
"The decision not to punish any police commanders overseeing Shireen Abu Akleh's funeral was actually made in advance of the investigation into the officers' attacks on mourners." https://t.co/qrG5m8UvQ9
— Gregg Carlstrom (@glcarlstrom) June 17, 2022
The Israeli forces had ordered a probe only after international outrage against the attack on Palestinian mourners at Akleh’s funeral procession. The security forces have refused to release the findings of the investigation report submitted earlier.
Veteran journalist Akleh was killed by Israeli snipers near Jenin in the occupied West Bank on May 11 when she, along with other journalists, was going to cover an occupation raid at a refugee camp. She was given a state funeral by the PA and thousands of Palestinians participated in her funeral procession.
The Israeli security forces attacked the pallbearers during Akleh’s funeral procession in occupied East Jerusalem, which almost caused them to drop her coffin. The Israeli forces also attacked other mourners, snatched Palestinians flags from their hands and resorted to baton charge. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, at least 33 Palestinians were injured in the attack.
Israel first tried to claim that Akleh, a US citizen, was caught in crossfire and killed by Palestinians. However, an independent probe by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem later proved that there was no crossfire at the site where she was killed. Israel was forced to offer a joint investigation following international pressure but the government later decided not to conduct any probe into her killing, claiming that it would create controversy in Israeli society.
