Israeli forces killed a Palestinian and injured over a dozen others during a large-scale military operation in the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank on Tuesday.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that 29-year-old Mohammed Sabaaneh was killed during the raid, and 16 others were injured with live ammunition and shrapnel as a result of Israeli fire.
Local media reported that Sabaaneh was filming the Israeli army raid into Jenin when he was shot dead.
Hundreds of Israeli soldiers raided the city in an operation to destroy the home of Raad Khazem, a 28-year-old Palestinian from Jenin who carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv earlier this year that killed three people.
According to Wafa, Israeli troops, accompanied by a bulldozer, closed off all the entrances to the city and raided several neighborhoods. Palestinians in the area responded to the raid with live fire and rocks towards Israeli soldiers.
The army surrounded a large residential apartment building and forced all its residents out before detonating explosives inside the apartment of Khazem’s family, destroying it.
It remained unclear how much damage was caused to the surrounding apartment units as a result of the demolition. According to Al Jazeera, the neighbors of the Khazem family had appealed to the Israeli supreme court against the demolition order, but their appeal was rejected in May.
Israel has a policy of punitively demolishing the homes of Palestinians who are accused of committing or attempting to commit attacks against Israelis.
Rights groups have widely condemned the practice of punitive home demolitions, with B’Tselem describing it as “court-sanctioned revenge” carried out on family members who have not committed crimes, amounting to collective punishment.
An Israeli military committee has even previously made recommendations to the government that the practice did not actually deter attacks.
Israel continues raids, killings
Sabaaneh is the second Palestinian killed by Israeli forces in the span of 48 hours.
On Monday Israeli forces killed 19-year-old Taher Zakarneh in the town of Qabatiya near Jenin during a similar raid. At least five Palestinians were arrested in Jenin during the raid, and 12 others were arrested in areas across the West Bank.
On Tuesday, when Sabaaneh was killed, Israeli forces also conducted raids in areas across Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem, and Hebron, arresting 21 Palestinians.
Israeli military raids into Palestinian towns and cities are a near nightly occurrence, and frequently result in the killing and injury of Palestinians.
More than 140 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the year according to the Ministry of Health, including 49 Palestinians in Gaza, who were killed during Israel’s Operation Breaking Dawn in early August.
According to documentation by Mondoweiss, dozens of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank during raids like the ones on Monday and Tuesday, primarily in Jenin City and the surrounding areas.
Israel has stepped up its military operations in Jenin since the start of the year, as part of a wider crackdown on armed resistance groups that have continued to grow in the city.
