Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in occupied West Bank

Two people killed in Dura near Hebron, and one person killed near Tulkarem, according to Palestinian Health Ministry. At least three Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says. Two Palestinians were shot on Monday during confrontations with the Israeli military in the town of Dura near Hebron in the southern West Bank, the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported.

Keep reading Mohammed Hasan Abu Sabaa, 22, died after he was shot in the heart by Israeli forces, the ministry said. Ahed Mahmoud Mohammed, 23, died after she was shot in the head, the director of Dura Governmental Hospital told Wafa. Ten other people were transported to the hospital with gunshot wounds, the Health Ministry said.

The Israeli military said its forces opened fire at a group of about 100 Palestinians taking part in a protest during which bricks and firebombs were thrown at soldiers. The military said the man who was shot had thrown a firebomb, but it did not provide evidence for the allegation. In a separate incident, Fares Khalifa, 37, was fatally shot by Israeli forces near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

Since the war in the besieged Gaza Strip began on October 7, the West Bank has experienced surging violence and attacks by Israeli forces not seen since the second Intifada from 2000 to 2005. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli forces have killed 30 Palestinians, including seven children, in the West Bank in the first 15 days of the year.

Last year, 507 Palestinians were killed, the highest annual death toll since OCHA started recording casualties in 2005. Students arrested Separately, Israel arrested students at a university in the occupied West Bank during an early morning raid. The students attend An Najah National University in Nablus, which called for their immediate release, describing the army raid as “blatant Israeli aggression”.

The university and the Palestinian Prisoners Club, an advocacy group, said 25 students were arrested in the raid. The Israeli army said security forces arrested “nine wanted persons associated with a Hamas student cell”..