Invading West Bank Jenin City In Disguise, Israeli Troops Kill Four Palestinians

Illustration of Israeli soldiers checking Palestinians. (Wikimedia Commons/Yaron Ben-haim)

JAKARTA - Israeli troops shot dead at least four Palestinians in an undercover raid in Jenin City, the occupied West Bank.

Two insurgents wanted for "terrorist activities" by the Israeli military were killed in the raid, as was one who tried to attack them with a crowbar, Palestinian officials said.

"They also had a shootout with gunmen. Of the four people who died was a 16-year-old boy," the Palestinian Ministry of Health said, launching The National News March 17.

The ministry identified those killed as Omar Awadin (16), Luay Al Zughair (37), Nidal Khazim (28) and Youssef Shrem (29).

Khazim and Shrem are residents of the Jenin refugee camp and members of Islamic Jihad, the Israeli army said.

In addition to the death toll, this raid also left 20 other Palestinians injured in gunfire, four of whom were seriously injured.

The militant group said Israel would "pay the price for this crime" without identifying the two people as its members.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Al Saadi of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Jenin said, "an undercover Israeli unit storming the Abu Bakar street in the city center".

The raid took place before a planned meeting between Palestinian and Israeli officials on Sunday at the Sharm El Sheikh resort, Egypt, to hold talks aimed at reducing tensions ahead of the month of Ramadan.

The Palestinian Hamas group, which is in power in Israel's blockaded Gaza Strip, called the latest attack a "crime" and warned it would not be left alone.

Israel's troops have launched a number of attacks in Jenin City and refugee camps there in recent months targeting Palestinian militants.

The United Nations has denounced another "an alarming example of the cycle of violence", with UN Secretary-General spokesman Antonio Guterres urging "international community to double its efforts to end this cycle of violence".

Since the beginning of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 85 adults and Palestinian children, including militants and civilians.