At least two Palestinians were killed and several others injured as Israel carried out a violent raid in the occupied West Bank and airstrikes in Gaza over the weekend. The two Palestinians were killed after being shot by the Israeli security forces during a raid on the Nur Shams refugee camp in the city of Tulkarem on Sunday. No deaths were reported in Gaza but five people were wounded by Israeli army gunfire on the ground and dozens more suffered tear gas inhalation, said the Gazan health ministry.
The airstrikes targeted areas in Bureij and Jabalya in northern and central Gaza. They were reportedly conducted using Israeli military drones. The Israeli military claimed that it was targeting two Hamas “military posts” following “violent riots” by Palestinians in which they threw explosives at Israeli soldiers stationed near the Gaza-Israel border. For the last several days, Palestinians in large numbers have been protesting across Gaza against the recent Israeli decision to close the Erez border crossing, the only one for Palestinians to enter and exit Israel. Thousands of Palestinians with work permits inside Israel who would use the crossing for work have been affected by the decision.
The closure has resulted in loss of livelihood and income for Palestinians who have no other means of employment inside Gaza given its precarious economic situation, a direct result of the Israeli land, air and sea blockade on the territory since 2007. Human rights groups have condemned the border closure as “collective punishment” and called upon the Israeli authorities to reopen the crossing, keeping the humanitarian and economic situation in Gaza in mind.
In the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military targeted a refugee camp in Tulkarem on Sunday. Reports noted that dozens of soldiers with several armored military vehicles and a military bulldozer stormed into the refugee camp in the city. Israeli soldiers shot and attacked the Palestinians who were resisting, including with live ammunition. Two Palestinians, 21-year-old Asid Abu Ali and 32-year-old Abdulrahman Abu Daghash, were killed. The Israeli raid also caused widespread destruction in the area, with reports noting that several roads, buildings, public and private property, and other civic infrastructure such as water supply pipes suffered severe damage. The Palestinian Authority (PA) denounced the Israeli invasion. PA spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh called it a “dangerous” escalation and stated that Israel was “waging a continuous war against Palestinians which threatened to ignite the region into conflict.”
Israeli violence and oppression against Palestinians has intensified substantially with deadly raids becoming increasingly regular. Israeli forces have killed a total of 224 Palestinians, including 38 children, already this year. Of the total, 187 were killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and 37 in Gaza.