Israeli soldiers entered Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday morning, where they encountered armed resistance. They should have come with several dozen armored vehicles and special forces, according to the newspaper Al Jazeera. Palestinian health authorities say 97 Palestinians were wounded, six of them critically, in the fighting that followed. At least ten have been killed by Israeli soldiers, reports AFP. A spokesperson for the Israeli army informs the newspaper Haaretz that the soldiers were hunting two Palestinian militants. Almost 100 Palestinians are said to be injured as a result of shooting in the city of Nablus. Photo: ZAIN JAAFAR / AFP Health personnel say to Reuters that two militant Palestinians will be among those killed. In addition, there will be a 72-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy. The militant group Islamic Jihad says that a house where two of their commanders were staying was surrounded by Israeli soldiers. Surround the “hidden city” The Israeli forces are said to have blocked all roads into the city and surrounded the house. These were to blame for previous shooting episodes on the West Bank, and had the flat as a “hiding town”, says the Israeli military. Both children and adults are said to have fought back when Israeli forces entered Nablus. Photo: RANEEN SAWAFTA / Reuters Several armed persons are said to have become involved in the battles that followed. Loud explosions rang out in the city, and unarmed youths are said to have thrown stones at armored personnel carriers. Time-stamped surveillance video, which the New York Times has obtained access to, shows that at least two unarmed Palestinians are shot while fleeing from the fence. The Israeli military tells the newspaper that they are investigating this video, and claims in a separate statement to have “neutralized” three armed persons. – Not the start of a third intifada Arild Schou is a researcher at the University of South-East Norway, and has written a doctorate on the Israel-Palestine conflict. He does not interpret the escalation of violence that we see now as the start of a third intifada, or large-scale uprising from the Palestinian side. Arild Schou has written a doctorate on the intifada and is a professor at the University of Southeast Norway Photo: USN – The first intifada was a low-violent intifada with broad support, and the second intifada was in many ways a rather violent intifada that led to a couple three wars between Israel and Hamas, he says to news. – I think it will take a bit for a possible third intifada to take off, because the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are extremely divided ideologically and of course geographically. What characterized the first intifada, says Schou, was that you saw a collective organization in both places, and that the underground leadership was quite advanced. You don’t see this in the current situation, especially in the West Bank or in Gaza, he believes. – As I see it, it is more of a convulsive rebellion without aim and meaning. It is far too early to say whether it can move in the direction of a collective rebellion before we see some organization over time. – Today there is more division than any anger, and little political candy at the other end if you establish something like this. At least 57 Palestinians killed so far this year At least 57 Palestinians have been killed so far this year by Israeli soldiers and people living in the West Bank, says the Palestinian Ministry of Health, according to Reuters. Among these there must be several children. At least 11 Israelis have also been killed by Palestinians since the start of the year, including seven in a mass shooting on January 27 in Jerusalem. This was the deadliest attack on the city since 2008. These shoe holes in a metal plate are shown after the battles in Nablus. Photo: RANEEN SAWAFTA / Reuters In the Gaza Strip, a spokesperson for the militant group Hamas says that violence in the area “has escalated”. – The opposition in Gaza observes that the enemy is escalating its criminal acts against our people in the occupied West Bank, and patience is about to run out, said spokesman for the militant group Abu Obeida. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, has also spoken out about the attack. – We condemn the occupation’s action in Nablus and we demand an end to the ongoing attacks against our people.
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At least ten Palestinians are said to have been killed and almost 100 wounded – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
