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Deadly Shooting at Israeli Checkpoint Sets Jerusalem on Edge


JERUSALEM – Israeli security forces on Sunday said they were still hunting for the gunman who carried out a deadly attack late Saturday at a checkpoint in East Jerusalem and that three Palestinians had been arrested in connection with the attack. Shooting.

The attack, which left an Israeli soldier dead and a security guard seriously injured, comes as tensions rise ahead of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, when devotees and pilgrims flock to the city. Israeli forces were put on high alert across the city ahead of the holiday, which began at sundown on Sunday night and lasted a week.

Saturday night’s attack at the checkpoint near the Shuafat refugee camp, on the northeastern outskirts of Jerusalem, came hours after a deadly Israeli arrest raid and armed clashes in the city Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, in which two Palestinians were killed.

The recent wave of violence enveloping Israel and the West Bank is the worst these regions have seen in years. The Israeli military has been carrying out an intensifying operation, especially in and around the cities of Jenin and Nablus in the northern West Bank, following a series of terrorist attacks in Israeli cities. . killed 19 people in the spring.

Army raids, which take place almost every night, are often deadly. At least 100 Palestinians have been killed this year. Israeli authorities say many of them were militants killed in clashes or while attempting to launch attacks, but a number of Palestinian protesters and civilians who were not involved have also been killed. was killed.

The high death toll in the West Bank has prompted many disgruntled Palestinian men to take up arms and attempt revenge attacks, analysts say. The revival of loose formation, armed Palestinian militia in the northern West Bank are increasingly reminiscent of the chaos there during the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which broke out in 2000 and lasted more than four years.

The new military force emerges after years without any political progress to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is being promoted by separation and division in Fatahsecular party that controls the Palestinian Authority, which governs areas of the West Bank.

Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war and later annexed East Jerusalem in a move that has never been recognized internationally. Palestinians claim the West Bank and East Jerusalem as part of a future Palestinian state.

Adding to the frictions is Palestinian frustration with government leaders, who are seen by many as incompetent and corrupt, and security coordination with the Israeli military seen by many Palestinians. is to cooperate with the enemy. Power struggles are also taking place, like Palestinian factions race to succeed Mahmoud Abbas87-year-old president of the administration.

Hamas, the Islamist militant group that dominates the Palestinian coastal Gaza region and is Fatah’s main rival, has encouraged armed groups in the West Bank in an effort to destabilize the region. It is expected to continue to do so in the run-up to Israel’s elections, which take place on November 1 – the country’s fifth in under four years.

The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, said in a statement late Saturday that he was “alarmed about the deteriorating security situation,” citing the increased armed clashes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

“The growing violence in the Occupied West Bank is fostering a climate of fear, hatred and anger,” he said. “It is important to reduce tensions immediately to open up space for important initiative aimed at establishing a viable political horizon. “

The attack on the checkpoint occurred shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday, when a man got out of a vehicle, shot at security personnel then jogged toward the Shuafat refugee camp.

The the army identifies the soldier who was killed, a female member of a combat battalion of the military police, as Sergeant Major. Noa Lazar, 18. She was promoted from corporal to sergeant after her death.

The Israeli army’s raid on the Jenin refugee camp earlier took place irregularly during the day. The target, who was eventually captured, was a member of the jihadist group, which according to the military, also said he was released from prison in 2020 and has since been involved in attacks. against Israeli soldiers.

The military said that dozens of Palestinians threw explosives and shot at soldiers during the raid, and soldiers responded with live ammunition.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the two dead Palestinians as Mahmoud al-Sous, 18, and Ahmad Daraghmeh, 16. Two more Palestinian teenagers had been killed by Israeli troops in separate incidents in the West Bank the day before.

Human rights groups have accused Israel of using excessive force in quelling unrest in the West Bank. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Abbas, the Palestinian president, blamed Israel for the escalation and warned that it would push the situation to “an explosion and a point of no return, which will cause devastating consequences for everyone.”

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who is running against former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Sunday that Israel would “not rest” until Sergeant Lazar’s “disgusting killers” were brought out. Justice. Mr Netanyahu said he was “holding hands with the security forces operating at the scene”.

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