Palestinians, 2 Israelis killed in escalating tension

Palestinians say the unrest is the inevitable result of almost 50 years of Israeli occupation with no hope for gaining independence.

“Israeli forces have a long history of carrying out unlawful killings in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including extrajudicial executions”.

Mahmud died Friday morning in the same hospital, an official there said, and was later buried in his home village of Sair, just outside Hebron.

Undercover forces also entered a hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus last month to arrest a Palestinian who was wounded after he and others were suspected of shooting to death two Jewish settlers.

“The situation is very bad here”, Issa Amro, coordinator of the Hebron-based Youth Against Settlements activist group, said by phone. “People are very angry”.

Israel media reported that a Palestinian man opened fire from the side of the road at a passing auto, killing the two Israelis. Two of the settlers were killed and one injured.

Israeli forces rushed to the scene and spread out in the area to search for the attacker, who escaped from the scene. Indeed, the European Union deems any settlement constructed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem a violation of worldwide law; Israel disputes this.

At least 85 Palestinians have been killed in the recent escalation of violence since the start of October. Witnesses report that he was not armed, was a few metres away from the soldiers and police and had not attempted to attack them.

The pre-dawn raid in the volatile West Bank city of Hebron outraged Palestinians and drew accusations that Israel had improperly used force in a building that should be immune, or at least insulated, from military operations.

On Thursday, Israel’s supreme court gave a green light to the destruction of five homes belonging to Palestinians accused of taking part in deadly attacks against Israelis.

A Palestinian was shot dead during clashes yesterday with the army in Hebron, Palestinian medics said.

Democratic and Republican administrations have opposed Israel settlement activity since 1967, as has most of the global community, deeming it a hindrance to a peace agreement that establishes an independent Palestine alongside Israel.

“The Israeli economy is strong and will withstand this; those who will be hurt will be those Palestinians who work in Israeli factories”. He said parents demanding the return of their children’s bodies in Hebron had banned the two factions from flying their flags at protests.

When the BDS movement and similar groups at US colleges call for an intifada and declare solidarity with terrorists who are actively butchering Jews, they are declaring solidarity with those who want to murder even more Jews.

On Wednesday, Israeli authorities handed a confiscation and demolition order of a house of an alleged Palestinian attacker, Baha Ellian, in occupied East Jerusalem.

The commandos found Shalaldeh’s brother, Bilal, in the room and tied him up on a bed, but as they were about to leave with the suspect, another of his cousins abruptly entered the room.