Early on Thursday morning, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant was shot dead after he opened fire towards Israeli troops operating near Jenin.
https://www.jpost.com-By ANNA AHRONHEIM, TZVI JOFFRE
Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli forces during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City, on August 21, 2021.
(photo credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)
Three Palestinians were killed by IDF fire on Thursday morning, in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip.
Early on Thursday morning, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant was shot dead after he opened fire towards Israeli troops operating in Burqin near the West Bank city of Jenin.
The man was identified as 22-year-old Alaa Nasser Zayoud, an operative in the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist movement. The group later confirmed he was a member of the organization.
Troops from the Border Police’s undercover unit and the IDF’s Haruv counter-terrorism reconnaissance unit were in the town as part of an ongoing crackdown against a large Hamas cell operating in the area and planning terror attacks.
Clashes broke out during the arrest operation with Zayoud allegedly opening fire towards troops. IDF soldiers and Border Police officers returned fire, hitting him, and afterward confiscated his weapon, a Carlo submachine gun.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that Zayoud had been hit by two bullets in the chest, one in the neck and another in the right thigh. Two other Palestinians were injured in the clashes.
The forces were in Burqin to arrest suspects and locate weapons belonging to that cell based on intelligence provided by the Shin Bet internal security agency.
No Israeli troops were injured.
In Jerusalem, 30-year-old Issra Khuzaymah from the West Bank town of Qabatiya near Jenin was shot by Israeli police after she exited the Temple Mount complex near the Chain Gate around 6:30 a.m. and pulled a knife on officers.
Medical forces who arrived at the scene pronounced her death.
No Israelis were injured and following the attempted attack police officers temporarily closed the gates to the Temple Mount.
Also on Thursday morning, a Palestinian man who approached the perimeter fence along the Gaza border was shot dead by IDF troops.
He was identified as 41-year-old Muhammad Ammar from the al-Bureij refugee camp.
The Palestinian Maan News Agency quoting eyewitnesses said that IDF troops opened fire on a number of farmers.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that troops had identified three suspects who approached the fence in the northern Gaza Strip, with one carrying “spotted digging in the ground and carrying a suspicious bag.”
“Following the identification IDF forces stationed at the spot fired towards the suspect.”
The Israeli military said that they are aware of Palestinian reports of the fatality and are investigating the incident.
On Sunday, an IDF officer and soldier were severely wounded and five Palestinians were killed by IDF troops after armed clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli security forces during a wave of arrest operations across the West Bank.
The arrest raids took place in five different locations, including in Qabatiya and Burqin where two Palestinians including a member of PIJ, were killed.
While security forces have arrested some 20 militants belonging to the cell and confiscated five guns, there are additional suspects who belong to the same cell who have not yet been arrested.
Though the IDF believes that the raids struck a significant blow to the cell’s plans, they are still not sure if the threat posed by the cell has passed and continue with operations to dismantle the cell.