The Israeli army killed three Palestinians and injured seven others during a raid in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus early on Monday, May 22. Four of the seven injured were hit by live ammunition. One of them is in a critical condition, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The Israeli forces also fired tear gas at Palestinians resisting the raid. According to reports, the military operation was launched a day after an Israeli soldier was allegedly injured in Nablus when a car rammed him.
The three killed have been identified by the Palestinian Health Ministry as Mohammed Zaytoun (32), Fathi Rizk (30), and Abdullah Abu Hamdan (24). The Israeli security forces have killed at least 156 Palestinians, including 26 children, in the occupied West Bank and Gaza so far this year.
A large number of Israeli soldiers—accompanied by special forces, armored vehicles and bulldozers—carried out the dawn raid at the Balata camp. Another raid was simultaneously carried out at the Jenin refugee camp near Nablus.
The army arrested 13 Palestinians during the raids. At least seven houses were damaged. One house was completely demolished.
Last week, Israel approved yet another illegal settlement project in the Homesh area near Nablus. The approval was signed by the Israeli military’s central command chief and followed an amendment by the Israeli Knesset earlier this year which allowed Israelis to once again resettle four illegal settlements in the northern occupied West Bank. The then newly elected far-right government under Netanyahu had also passed laws legalizing nine outposts and approving the expansion of various other settlements.