Israeli forces killed two Palestinians overnight during raids on Jenin and Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed since Wednesday morning to three.
Late Wednesday night Israeli forces raided the town of Yabad in Jenin in order to demolish the family home of Diaa Hamarsheh, who was killed in March after he carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv that killed five people.
A large number of Israeli troops along with a bulldozer raided the town and cordoned off the area around the Hamarsheh family home before blowing it up. Israeli snipers positioned themselves on the roofs of houses in the area, Wafa news agency reported.
The demolition raid sparked protests in the town, with Israeli forces firing live ammunition and tear gas at Palestinians who threw stones at the military forces. The Israeli military claimed that it fired on Palestinian gunmen, and that “a hit was detected,” the Times of Israel reported.
Bilal Kabaha, 24, was killed after he was shot in the chest and thigh. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that at least two other Palestinians were critically wounded with live ammunition in the neck, abdomen, and face. Wafa reported six injuries with live ammunition.
During the raid on Yabad, Israeli forces also reportedly arrested Diaa Hamarsheh’s father and took him in for interrogation.
Israel issued a demolition order on the Hamarsheh family home last month, as part of its policy of punitively demolishing the homes of Palestinians who carry out attacks on Israelis. The policy, which violates international law, has been widely condemned by rights groups.
Israeli rights group B’Tselem has condemned the practice as “court-sanctioned revenge” carried out on family members who have not committed crimes, amounting to collective punishment.
Later in the night, in the predawn hours of Thursday morning, Israeli forces raided the Dheisheh refugee camp in the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem, sparking confrontations with Palestinian residents of the camp.
The ministry of health said that one Palestinian, identified as 29-year-old Ayman Muhaisen, was killed during the raid. According to residents of the camp, Muhaisen was a former prisoner.
The Israeli army said it raided the camp in search of a suspect who allegedly threw a molotov cocktail earlier in the week, reportedly “lightly injuring an undercover Border Police officer,” the Times of Israel said.
“During the operation, suspects hurled explosives and threw stones at the forces, who responded with gunfire. Hits were identified,” the army said in a statement.
At least nine Palestinians were reportedly arrested during raids across the West Bank overnight on Wednesday.
Palestinian journalist killed Wednesday morning
The killing of Kabaha and Muhaisen came hours after Israeli forces killed 31-year-old Ghufran Warasneh, a Palestinian journalist, near the al-Arroub refugee camp in the Hebron district of the West Bank.
Warasneh was a resident of the nearby town of al-Shuyukh, and had recently been released from Israeli prison in April, following a three month sentence.
The Israeli army claimed that Warasneh was holding a knife, and that its forces shot her as she “advanced toward an [Israeli army] soldier who was conducting routine security activity” in the area.
Witnesses told Al Jazeera that Warasneh, who had reportedly just started a new job at a local radio station, posed little to no threat to the armed soldiers stationed in the area when she was shot.
According to the Ministry of Health, Warasneh was shot in the chest. The Palestinian Red Crescent said that Israeli forces prevented medics from approaching her for 20 minutes after she was shot.
She was evacuated to the al-Ahli hospital in Hebron where she was pronounced dead.
Video footage from Warasneh’s funeral procession on Wednesday afternoon showed armed Israeli troops attacking mourners, pushing them and firing sound bombs into the crowd.
The killing of Warasneh, Kabaha, and Muhaisen brings the total number of Palestinians killed by Israel this year to 60, according to Mondoweiss documentation.
13 children killed
Thirteen Palestinian children have been killed so far by Israel this year, the latest victim being 14-year-old Zaid Ghnaim from the town of al-Khader, south of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Ghnaim was shot and killed on May 27th by Israeli forces. According to Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), Ghnaim was shot in the shoulder from a distance of 15-10 meters (20-65) as he was fleeing from soldiers. The bullet ruptured his lung, causing severe internal bleeding.
He was evacuated to a hospital in Bethlehem where he was pronounced dead.
The Israeli army claimed they fired on Palestinians who were throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails, but DCIP said that according to eyewitness testimony it collected, “the area was quiet and calm” when Ghnaim was shot.
He was the 13th Palestinian child killed by Israel this year.
