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Palestinian Killed Five Injured In Jenin

03:00 Aug 20 2013 Jenin

Palestinian Killed Five Injured In Jenin
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Mourners cried during the funeral of Majd Lahlouh in the Jenin refugee camp on Tuesday in the West Bank. Jaafar Ashtiyeh/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian medical sources have reported that Israeli soldiers invaded, on Monday at dawn [August 20, 2013] the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and clashed with local youths killing one of them by rounds of live ammunition, and wounding five others.

The sources said that Majd Lahlouh, 22, has been killed after being shot by a live round to the heart, and added that five others have been injured also by live rounds, while dozens have been treated for the effects of teargas inhalation, the Palestine News Network (PNN) said.

Medics rushed Lahlouh to Dr. Khalil Suleiman Hospital in Jenin, but he succumbed to his injuries.

Soldiers withdrew from the camp later on leaving tensions high among the residents, especially since the military invaded Jenin several times during the last 24 hours.

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By Jodi Rudoren for the New York Times

JERUSALEM — Israeli soldiers killed a young Palestinian man early Tuesday during a confrontation in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, as troops arriving to arrest an Islamic Jihad member suspected of planning terrorist attacks were greeted by violent protesters, Israeli officials said.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said that when about 50 soldiers and border police officers entered the camp at 3 a.m., they faced gunshots as well as rocks, firecrackers and explosive devices.

The Maan news agency identified the dead Palestinian as Majd Mohammad Anis Lahlouh, 22. Two other Palestinians were injured, along with two soldiers, Colonel Lerner said.

“A very violent riot erupted there,” the company commander, identified only as Shai under military rules, said in a video of the episode that was distributed by the Israel Defense Forces. “We were faced with armed Palestinians, who shot at us from behind covers and rooftops. We responded with live fire.”

Such killings have become relatively rare, though a 19-year-old student died in similar circumstances in the southern West Bank town of Dura on July 2.

The Israeli human rights group B’tselem said Mr. Lahlouh was the 10th Palestinian killed this year by the military, compared with 254 in all of 2012 (about three-quarters died during Israel’s eight-day clash with Hamas in November) and 115 in 2011.

The predawn confrontation in Jenin, which Colonel Lerner described as “a hotbed for Islamic Jihad operations,” highlighted entrenched divisions even as Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators met Tuesday for the third time as part of a Washington-brokered process.

In recent days, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his aides have accused the Palestinian leadership of incitement, citing statements on official radio challenging Israel’s right to exist and anti-Israel messages at Palestinian summer camps. Leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization, meanwhile, have complained about continued Israeli building in West Bank settlements and the fact that an American envoy will not be in the negotiating room.

“There is a complete absence of accountability from the United States and the international community towards Israel and its violations, as if the goal was merely to get the two sides to the table and to leave Israel to continue its measures,” Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the P.L.O. executive committee, told Voice of Palestine radio on Tuesday. “The U.S. must hold it responsible, or we will be forced to turn to international organizations to file complaints.”

Talal Dweikat, the governor of Jenin, said in a radio interview that the raid on Tuesday was the latest in a series in the area in which troops were “shooting at people and houses, and shooting in cold blood our youths.”

Colonel Lerner declined to identify the Islamic Jihad member who was arrested on Tuesday but said he was suspected of planning drive-by shootings targeting both soldiers and civilians. One of the Palestinian protesters was also arrested.

Colonel Lerner said the military was reviewing the episode, but added: “It seems when you’re shot at, you shoot back. It’s pretty professional. We expect our troops to be able to respond and defend themselves in life-threatening circumstances.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: August 20, 2013

A summary displayed with an earlier version of this article misidentified a young Palestinian man killed as a Islamic Jihad member.
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