Clashes broke out Saturday morning after Israel Defense Forces troops raided a refugee camp near the West Bank city of Jericho as part of operations to apprehend suspects involved in a shooting attack on a nearby restaurant last week.
At least four Palestinians were injured, two of them seriously, according to media reports.
It was unclear if they were directly involved in the violence at the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp, adjacent to Jericho.
There were no Israeli injuries, according to Hebrew-language media reports.
At least three Palestinian suspects were said to have been arrested in the operation.
According to Palestinian media reports, Israeli troops surrounded buildings where suspects were barricaded, and fired an anti-tank missile at the structure in an attempt to force a surrender.
כוחות צה"ל פועלים במחנה הפליטים עקבת ג'בר שליד יריחו, ללכידת המחבלים שביצעו את הפיגוע בצומת אלמוג בבקעה בסוף השבוע שעבר. במקום חילופי ירי. מספר חשודים פלסטינים נעצרו | עדכונים שוטפים >>> https://t.co/q6LRjHlKDz@ItayBlumental @carmeldangor pic.twitter.com/3sUbTQdmZI
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 4, 2023
According to the Kan public broadcaster, a text message was sent to the residents of the refugee camp, warning them to “keep children at home” during the operation.
“We act in a targeted manner against terrorism. Avoid unnecessary confrontations with the security forces and keep your children at home. Listen to us so we can restore peace to the camp,” the message read.
According to the Haaretz daily, some mosques in the refugee camp had issued calls for residents to defend the area during the military operation.
There was no official comment from the IDF.
The raid came after a Palestinian gunman opened fire at a restaurant near the Almog Junction, close to Jericho, last Saturday evening.
Surveillance camera footage of the incident showed the gunman armed with an assault rifle and another person approaching the restaurant. There were no injuries in the attack.
A military source said the gunman’s weapon jammed, and he only managed to fire one shot before fleeing the scene.
Security camera footage from another angle showed the vehicle they were driving had an Israeli license plate.
ניסיון פיגוע בבקעה: מחבל פתח בירי לעבר סועדים במסעדה בצומת אלמוג ונמלט, לא היו נפגעים. למחבל היה מעצור בנשק והוא הספיק לירות כדור אחד. מתבצעות סריקות באזור אחר המחבל @ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/bLbTEhNcoM
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) January 28, 2023
In recent months, Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly targeted military posts, troops operating along the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements and civilians on the roads.
The restaurant shooting followed a pair of terror attacks in Jerusalem within a 24-hour period, including a deadly terror assault in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood.
Saturday’s raid came as tensions remain high in the West Bank, with an unarmed Palestinian man shot dead after allegedly lunging at Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Nablus a day earlier, the military said.
The troops first shot into the air, and after the suspect continued to refuse calls to halt, they fired directly at him, killing him, the IDF said. A military source said a suicide note was found on his body.
Separately on Friday, an Israeli driver came under fire near the West Bank city of Rawabi. The IDF said several bullet holes were identified on the car, and shell casings were found nearby.
The incidents came as the IDF pressed on with an anti-terror offensive to deal with a series of attacks that left 31 people in Israel dead in 2022, and seven more in an attack last weekend.
The IDF’s operation has netted more than 2,500 arrests in near-nightly raids. It also left 171 Palestinians dead in 2022, and another 36 since the beginning of the year, many of them while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces, though some were uninvolved civilians.
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