Israeli forces shot and killed two young Palestinians — one 17-year-old and one 20-year-old — and injured at least two others after a violent military raid into Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank erupted into clashes early Wednesday morning.
An Israeli army spokesperson said that during an “operation” in the camp, a Palestinian gunman opened fire at Israeli forces, and other locals threw Molotov cocktails, which prompted Israeli fires to open fire toward the “attackers.”
No casualties were reported among the heavily armed and armored Israeli forces.
According to the Israeli army, no one was detained during the raid.
The spokesperson did not acknowledge the deaths of the two Palestinians, and said reports of casualties were under investigation.
Medical sources at Khalil Suliman governmental hospital said that 17-year-old Aws Muhammad Youssif Salamah died later in the hospital after succumbing to a gunshot wound.
The Palestinian Red Crescent told Ma’an that 20-year-old Saad Nasser Hassan Abd al-Fattah Salah was shot and killed by Israeli forces at the scene of the clashes. He reportedly sustained bullets to his head and chest.
Local sources highlighted Salah was survived by three brothers — one of whom, Youssif, is currently imprisoned in an Israeli jails — and that their father was permanently disabled after being shot by Israeli forces some time in the past.
Medical sources at Jenin governmental hospital told Ma’an that as of mid-morning Wednesday, two other Palestinian youths were being treated after arriving to the hospital from the clashes suffering from moderate wounds.
One was injured with an expanding “dumdum” bullet lodged in his leg, and the other was injured by shrapnel.
In addition to the dire living conditions residents face in the camp, Jenin refugee camp has been a primary target of the Israeli army for decades, and more recently of the Palestinian Authority, in the form of aggressive military raids and security crackdowns.
Due to the typically aggressive nature of the raids, clashes often erupt between local Palestinian youth who are met in response with live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets, and tear gas, often resulting in serious, sometimes fatal injuries.
Israeli forces shot and killed a 19-year-old Palestinian in Jenin refugee camp in January, while several others have suffered gunshot injuries in the camp as a result of violent clashes with the Israeli army.
Aws and Saad became the 38th and 39th Palestinians to be killed by Israelis this year, with at least eight of them being killed during clashes.
Earlier this month, an 18-month old Palestinian infant died some two months after suffering from tear gas inhalation during clashes in the village of of Abud in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah.
More recently, a 13-year-old Palestinian from the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya lost his eye on Sunday after Israeli forces fired a sponge-tipped bullet at the teenager during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the neighborhood.
Ma’an News recorded the deaths of 112 Palestinians and 15 Israelis in 2016 as a result of violence from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Hours before the deadly clashes in Jenin, thousands mourners in the Bethlehem-area village of Tuqu buried 24-year-old Muhammad Ibrahim Jibril, after he was shot dead by Israeli forces on Monday for allegedly committing an vehicular attack against Israeli soldiers.
