Israeli army mutilates bodies of 3 Palestinians killed in West Bank raid

By Aysar Alais

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army desecrated the bodies of three Palestinians killed in a gunfight Thursday in Qabatiya in the northern occupied West Bank.

Witnesses told Anadolu that soldiers threw the bodies from the roof of a house surrounded by the military since morning, videos of which later circulated in the social media platforms.

An army bulldozer subsequently lifted the bodies using its metal claw attachment, they said.

They noted that before to the desecration, the army conducted demolition around the besieged house.

Videos circulated by activists showed the army throwing the bodies from the roof of the house. In one video, a military force can be seen arriving at the site, firing at one of the bodies, and then detonating an explosive device.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said the army killed three Palestinians and injured 10 during a raid Thursday in Qabatiya.

The Red Crescent said its teams in Jenin dealt with a case of live ammunition injury to the back in Qabatiya and transported the victim to a medical facility in the town.

In a separate statement, it reported that it managed to reach a child injured by bullets in his leg in one of the town's streets and provided treatment.

Witnesses also reported that Israeli bulldozers destroyed Palestinian vegetable stalls in Qabatiya’s market.

It marks the second raid on Qabatiya within two days; the army entered Wednesday, surrounded a house, and arrested a Palestinian before withdrawing.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,300 victims, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.​​​​​​​

At least 710 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,700 injured by Israel in the West Bank since Oct. 7, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice in July that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio