Three Palestinians shot dead in “cold blood” by Israeli forces

Israeli forces shot three Palestinians dead in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.

The Palestinian health ministry announced the martyrdom of three men shot by Israeli forces in Jaba, near the northern city of Jenin.

Palestinian Quds News Network said the killing had been carried out in “cold blood”:

Another sad day for Palestinians as Israeli occupation forces shot and killed, earlier this morning, three youths in cold blood while sitting in their car during a military raid into the town of Jaba’, south of Jenin city. pic.twitter.com/Ccp4rxehYu

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) March 9, 2023

The health ministry identified the dead men as Sufyan Fakhoury, Ahmed Fashafsha, and Nayef Malaysha. All were in their mid-twenties.

“Heinous assassination”

Israeli police claim that IDF special forces accompanied by soldiers had been in Jaba to arrest suspects involved in shooting attacks against soldiers in the area. These included Fakhoury and Fashafsha. It said the pair were operatives of the militant group Islamic Jihad. However, in a statement Islamic Jihad condemned Israel for the “heinous assassination” in Jaba.

Al-Jazeera reported:

Israeli special forces, including undercover units in civilian clothing, raided Jaba at 6am (04:00 GMT).

Local media outlets reported that an exchange of fire between Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces ensued.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) also criticised the raid, with spokesperson Ibrahim Melhem saying:

They [the Israelis] are the blind force that spreads terror and intimidation to discourage our people from continuing the struggle, which has not and will not stop, no matter the sacrifices.

Apartheid

In 2022 human rights charity Amnesty International labelled Israel an apartheid state following an investigation they carried out:

Israeli authorities must be held accountable for committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians…Israel enforces a system of oppression and domination against the Palestinian people wherever it has control over their rights. This includes Palestinians living in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), as well as displaced refugees in other countries.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:

There is no possible justification for a system built around the institutionalized and prolonged racist oppression of millions of people. Apartheid has no place in our world, and states which choose to make allowances for Israel will find themselves on the wrong side of history.

Featured image via Wikimedia Commons/Israeli Defence Force, cropped to 770 x 403.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse