West Bank: Two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli forces’ incursion in the West Bank early on Sunday.
The two were killed by gunshots to the head during the operation that occurred in Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm, according to WAFA.
Earlier, Israel continued to pound a militant site in Gaza on Saturday for the second time in as many days, the Israeli army said, after Palestinian militants sent incendiary balloons into Israeli farmland and Palestinian protesters threw stones and explosives at soldiers at the separation fence.
There were no reported casualties from the strikes in Gaza. Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli military shot and wounded three Palestinians who were rallying at the separation fence along the Israeli frontier with the crowded enclave. It’s a familiar tactic for Palestinians in Gaza protesting a 16-year blockade imposed by Israel with Egypt’s help. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent the ruling Hamas militant group from arming itself.
It was the latest in a series of violent protests over the past week that has raised the specter of an escalation for the first time since a brief round of conflict last May between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. It comes at a fraught time, just before the Sukkot festival in Israel next week.
During Sukkot, large numbers of Jews are expected to visit Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The compound, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is often a focal point for violence. –Agencies
