Israeli forces kill five Palestinians in Jericho raid

The five men who were killed, according to the ministry, ranged in age from 21 to 28.

Jericho is a popular tourist destination because of its religious and cultural landmarks and lack of violence.

The Israeli army reported that two armed men approached an Israeli settlement restaurant near the Palestinian city on January 28. Israel claimed that Monday’s raid had targeted “the Hamas terrorist squad that carried out the shooting attack.”

One of the attackers had fired at the restaurant, but his gun jammed after firing only one bullet that did not kill anyone.

The army has increased its presence around Jericho and carried out extensive searches at checkpoints since the two suspected attackers fled the scene.

Last week, an AFP correspondent reported that there were long lines at the entrances to Jericho, and cars were backed up.

The situation amounted to a “siege,” according to Jericho governor Jihad Abu al-Assal, and it was “incurring huge costs” to local businesses, agriculture, and the tourism industry.

Mohammad Shtayyeh, the Palestinian prime minister, referred to the deadly raid on Monday as a “major crime” and a “flagrant violation of international law.”

He said in a statement, “The successive killings by the enemy in the West Bank will be disastrous for them.”

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has killed 41 Palestinian adults and children since the beginning of the year, including attackers, militants, and civilians.

In the same time frame, a single attack in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem has resulted in the deaths of six civilians from Israel, one of whom is a child, and one civilian from Ukraine.

The West Bank has been under Israeli control since the Six-Day War in 1967.

Since the United Nations began keeping track of deaths in the West Bank in 2005, this was the deadliest year on record.

According to AFP figures, there were 235 deaths in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2022, with nearly 90% occurring on the Palestinian side.