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Mohammad Bilal Zeitoun, 32, Fathi Jihad Abdul-Salem Rezeq, 30, and Abdullah Yousef Mohammad Abu Hamdan, 24. (Names do not necessarily reflect order pictured in the photo) Published by IMEMC News

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by IMEMC News
May 22, 2023

On Monday dawn, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinians and injured four others, one seriously, after the army invaded the Balata refugee camp, the largest Palestinian refugee camp, near Nablus, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, the Health Ministry confirmed the death of the three young Palestinian men, adding that the soldiers also shot four young men, including one in a life-threatening condition.

The Health Ministry said the soldiers killed Mohammad Bilal Zeitoun, 32, Fathi Jihad Abdul-Salem Rezeq, 30, and Abdullah Yousef Mohammad Abu Hamdan, 24.

The Palestinians were killed and injured when a large military force, in many armored vehicles, invaded the refugee camp at dawn, leading to protests, before the soldiers fired a barrage of live rounds, in addition to many rubber-coated steel bullets, gas bombs, and concussion grenades.

The soldiers also detonated three Palestinian homes during the invasion, including a home owned by the local Abu Shallal family.

The Palestinian TV said the soldiers did not inform the families, living near the homes, about their intention to detonate the properties.

The explosions caused serious damage not only to the targeted homes but also to the many surrounding properties, especially the ones above the properties in the same building.

Many surrounding homes sustained considerable property damage, especially since the refugee camp is densely populated with narrow alleys and attached properties.

Eyewitnesses said the army also deployed sharpshooters on rooftops of several buildings and prevented Palestinian ambulances from entering the refugee camp.

Furthermore, Palestinian fighters exchanged fire with the soldiers invading the refugee camp and its surrounding areas.

Israeli sources said the army deployed more than 400 soldiers during the invasion, and added that the soldiers also exchanged fire with Palestinian fighters.

In a video, an Israeli sharpshooter is seen pointing the laser of his sniper scope at the chest of a medic in a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance.

Ahmad Jibril, the head of the Emergency Department at the Nablus branch of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the army stopped its ambulances and refused to allow them to reach wounded Palestinians, forcing the medics to find alternate alleys and streets to reach the invaded area in Balata refugee camp, despite the serious risks to their lives.

Jibril said the medics were stopped while trying to reach a seriously wounded Palestinian who was shot in the chest, especially the lungs, but the soldiers stopped them and added that it was much later that the medics were able to reach him and rush him to hospital, but he succumbed to his wounds.

He added that the Red Crescent contacted the International Red Cross to coordinate with the army to allow the medics to enter the refugee camp, but the Israeli military coordinator denied the request.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli soldiers and paramilitary colonizers had killed 156 Palestinians since the beginning of this year. Among the slain Palestinians are 26 children, and 36 were killed in the Gaza Strip.

First Published on May 22, 2023, at 04:15