Israeli soldiers killed in shooting attack as West Bank operation continues

Israel’s military says two soldiers have been killed in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank, as its forces continue a major operation against Palestinian armed groups in the north of the territory.

Another eight soldiers were wounded when a Palestinian gunman opened fire at a checkpoint in Tayasir village, 2km (1.2 miles) north of Tubas, a military statement said. The attacker was shot dead, it said.

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad praised the attack as a response to the Israeli operation in Tubas, Jenin and Tulkarm, but neither said they were behind it.

Meanwhile, a UN official warned the situation in Jenin’s refugee camp was heading in a “catastrophic direction”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the start of a large-scale operation to “defeat terrorism” in Jenin on 21 January, three days after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect. The operation was expanded into Tulkarm and Tubas last week.

The Palestinian health ministry says Israeli forces have killed 70 Palestinians across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, since the start of the year.

The figure includes the 25 reported killed in the Jenin area and 13 in the Tubas and Tulkarm areas over the past two weeks.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said it killed about 55 “terrorists” and arrested 380 wanted individuals across the West Bank in January.

Israeli media reported that the Palestinian who carried out Tuesday’s shooting attack in Tayasir was able to sneak up to a military post next to the checkpoint before opening fire with an M16 rifle at soldiers stationed there.

Soldiers fired back and a gun battle lasted several minutes before the attacker was killed, they said.

The IDF named the two soldiers who were killed as Sgt Maj Ofer Yung, 39, and Sgt Maj Avraham Friedman, 43.

Two of the eight wounded soldiers were in a serious condition in hospital, it said.

The head of the IDF’s Central Command, Maj Gen Avi Bluth, said the attack was “a demonstration of the necessity of the counterterrorism operation in [the West Bank]”.

“We are determined to continue the operation, expand it as needed, and achieve victory,” he added.

Hamas praised what it described as the “heroic and qualitative operation carried out by a Palestinian resistance fighter” in Tayasir, saying that it showed “the crimes of the occupation and its aggression against the northern occupied West Bank will not go unpunished”.

On Monday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman alleged that the Israeli operation was part of a wider effort aimed at “displacing citizens and ethnic cleansing”.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Tuesday, Juliette Touma of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) warned of the deteriorating situation at Jenin refugee camp.

Hundreds of Israeli security forces backed by helicopters, drones and armoured bulldozers have been carrying out raids in the camp, long seen as a stronghold of armed groups.

“Large parts of the camp were completely destroyed in a series of detonations by the Israeli forces. It is estimated that 100 houses were destroyed or heavily damaged,” Ms Touma said.

“This detonation that happened on Sunday was when children were supposed to go back to school,” she added.

The IDF said on Sunday that it had “dismantled” 23 structures where explosives laboratories, weapons, observation posts and other infrastructure belonging to armed groups were located.

Ms Touma also said that Unrwa, which has been unable to provide services in the camp since early December, had received no prior warning of the explosions from Israeli authorities.

On Thursday, two laws passed by Israel’s parliament last year which bans Unrwa activity on Israeli soil and forbids contact between Israeli officials and Unrwa employees came into force. Israeli officials accuse Unrwa of being complicit with Hamas – an allegation the agency denies.

Ms Touma said the Israeli government had “not communicated to Unrwa how they intend to implement” the laws, and that Unrwa teams were currently “staying and delivering”.