UPDATE - Israeli tanks storm West Bank town, fire randomly

ADDS MORE DETAILS

By Aysar Alais and Mohammad Sio

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Israeli tanks stormed the town of Wadi Burqin west of Jenin in the northern West Bank on Sunday, firing randomly as part of an ongoing military operation in Jenin city and its refugee camp.

The tanks entered the town from the Jenin camp and fired their machine guns indiscriminately before returning to the camp, witnesses told Anadolu.

Activists shared videos on social media showing the moment of the invasion, with the sound of gunfire heard, while other videos showed the tanks emitting thick smoke. According to witnesses, no injuries were reported from the gunfire.

On Feb. 23, Israeli tanks entered the Jenin camp in the first military escalation of its kind since 2002.

Local media and activists also shared videos showing Palestinian children throwing stones at the tanks.

Separately, two Palestinians were shot by Israeli forces Sunday evening near the separation wall in the town of Tarqumiyah, northwest of Hebron, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, which added that the victims were transferred to a hospital for treatment.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said one of the wounded arrived at Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron in critical condition.

“The (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire on him near the separation wall in Tarqumiyah. He was transported to the hospital and taken into surgery,” the ministry said in a statement.

The escalation came amid a deadly Israeli military onslaught in the northern West Bank since Jan. 21 which has killed more than 66 Palestinians and displaced thousands.

Tension has been running high across the West Bank, where at least 930 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.