Daily Times

A Palestinian was killed and 16 wounded Tuesday when Israeli troops entered Jenin in the occupied West Bank to carry out a home demolition, the Palestinian health ministry said. “The outcome of the Israeli aggression on Jenin at dawn today: a 29-year-old martyr and 16 wounded with bullets and shrapnel were admitted to hospitals,” the ministry said.

Palestinian official news agency Wafa identified the dead man as Mohammed Musa Mohammed Sabaaneh, 29. Sabaaneh’s father, Musa Sabaaneh told AFP that a soldier “inside a jeep fired a bullet” at his son.

“We were asleep and did not know the news. We received a call that my son was seriously injured,” he said. Thousands of mourners gathered in Jenin as Sabaaneh’s body was paraded through the streets at his funeral. Laid alongside his body was an assault rifle emblazoned with the emblem of Saraya al-Quds, the armed wing of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad.

The Israeli army said it entered Jenin overnight “in order to demolish the residence” of the perpetrator of a deadly shooting attack in Tel Aviv in April. “During the activity, a violent riot was instigated. The rioters burned tyres, hurled rocks, Molotov cocktails and explosive devices at the forces, who responded with riot dispersal means,” it added.

“Hits were identified.” Raad Hazem killed three Israelis in a shooting spree in Tel Aviv’s busy Dizengoff Street nightlife district on April 7, before being shot dead after a massive manhunt.

His father Fathi Hazem and brother Hamam are both wanted by Israel. A petition by Hazem’s family to prevent the demolition was rejected by Israel’s supreme court on May 30. The Tel Aviv shooting was part of a wave of attacks on Israeli targets in which 19 people — mostly Israeli civilians inside Israel — were killed, mostly by Palestinians. Three Israeli Arab attackers also died. In response, Israel launched near nightly raids on West Bank towns and cities. On Monday, armed forces chief Lieutenant General Aviv Kohavi said “around 1,500 wanted people were arrested and hundreds of attacks prevented” in the operations.

He added that the Palestinian Authority of Mahmud Abbas was “unable” to control certain areas of the West Bank. Human rights activists say Israel’s policy of demolishing the homes of suspected attackers amounts to collective punishment, as it can render non-combatants, including children, homeless. But Israel says the practice is effective in deterring some Palestinians from carrying out attacks. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, when it captured the territory from Jordan.