According to Palestinian officials, two Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli soldiers during a raid in the occupied West Bank early on Monday, intensifying what has already turned into the worst wave of fighting in the region in years.
The men allegedly tried to ram their car into soldiers, according to the military, although this assertion could not be independently corroborated. Palestinians, who have been subject to a 55-year military occupation with no end in sight, frequently accuse Israeli troops of employing disproportionate force against them. Israel claims it adheres to tight rules of engagement and only fires when it is necessary to protect lives.
According to the military, the two Palestinians allegedly attempted to drive over soldiers with their automobiles while soldiers were trying to capture a suspect in the Jalazone refugee camp close to the city of Ramallah. According to the military, the soldiers started shooting at the automobile.
According to the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority, which communicates with Israel on civil matters, the two males were shot and killed by the military. They had not yet revealed who they were.
To protest the killings, Palestinians called a general strike in Ramallah, a city in the West Bank and home to the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. Numerous irate protestors marched through the streets while yelling “God is the greatest” and demanding that businesses close.
Since the spring, when a string of Palestinian attacks on Israelis resulted in the deaths of 19 persons. Israel has started conducting nightly arrest raids in the West Bank.
Israel claims it is acting because the Palestinian security forces are inadequate and that its operations are meant to destroy militant infrastructure and stop more attacks. The Palestinians believe that Israel is undermining the security forces and expanding its occupation of the regions they want for their future state by making nighttime incursions into their cities, villages, and towns.
About 100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli operations this year, making it the bloodiest since 2015. Israel claims that the majority of those murdered were militants, however, some civilians and local youngsters opposing the incursions were also slain in the fighting. Hundreds have been detained, many of whom have been put in what is known as administrative detention, which permits Israel to imprison people without indictment or trial.
As a result of the raids, there are now higher levels of tension in the West Bank and an increase in Palestinian shooting attacks against Israelis. They have also highlighted the growing dissatisfaction among young Palestinians with regard to the close security coordination between Israel and the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, who cooperate to capture militants.
In the 130 settlements and other outposts that Israel built after capturing the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East conflict, 500,000 Jewish settlers currently coexist with around 3 million Palestinians. Along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians desire that region for their future state.
