Amid Israeli army assassinations and settler terror, Palestinians rally around armed resistance in a showing of spontaneous mass mobilization that has not been seen in decades.
Never has the west’s double standard on Russian and Israeli aggression been so glaring.
Nablus is mourning the loss of loved ones following an Israeli army invasion that killed 11 people. “Loss is difficult as it is,” says newly widowed Umm Muhammad. “Loss because of the bullets of this ugly regime is indescribable.”
On February 22, Israeli forces invaded Nablus, killing 11 Palestinians, and wounding more than 100 more. The Biden administration responded by calling for “both sides” to “de-escalate tensions.”
The massive Israeli invasion of Nablus led to the assassination of several Palestinian resistance fighters, while the army fired indiscriminately at residents and killed an additional 8 Palestinians.
Muntaser al-Shawa is the eleventh Palestinian youth to be killed by Israel this year, and the latest martyr in Israel’s war on Palestinian children and minors.
Israeli forces and Israeli settlers killed 3 Palestinians in three days shortly after Itamar Ben Gvir called for an “Operation Defensive Shield 2” in response to the targeting of Israeli settlers.
Hamza Ashqar, 16, reportedly threw a piece of metal towards the army vehicles almost 100 feet away, when an Israeli soldier fired two fatal shots at him from inside one of the vehicles.
In less than two days, Israeli forces killed five Palestinians in Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, and Jenin.
Ahmad Amer Abu Juneid, 21, was killed with a bullet to the head in the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus; Sanad Samamra, 19, was killed in Hebron after an alleged stabbing attempt; Samir Ouni Aslan, 41, was killed with a bullet to the chest in the Qalandia refugee camp; and Habib Mohammad Abdelrahman Kamil, 25, and Abdelhadi Fakhri Nazzal, 18, were killed in Qabatiya, Jenin.
Amer Abu Zaytoun, 16, was shot and killed with a bullet to the head when Israeli forces invaded Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus. Abu Zaytoun is the fourth martyr to be killed by the Israeli military during the first week of 2023.