Ramallah/Tel Aviv [Israel], June 20: At least five Palestinians have been killed, including a 15-year-old, and 91 injured after Israeli forces, backed by helicopters, targeted the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified those killed as Khaled Asasa, 21; Qassam Abu Sariya, 29; QaisJabarin, 21; and Ahmed Saqr, 15. It added that at least five others were in serious condition after being wounded in a shootout between Israeli forces and armed groups.
The Israeli military said the raid was carried out to arrest two suspects and Israeli soldiers came under fire, which resulted in a "massive exchange of fire".
As the Israeli military vehicles were exiting the camp, the army's statement said, "a military vehicle was hit by an explosive device, damaging the vehicle," after which military helicopters shot towards the gunmen to help the soldiers exit.
Hussein al-Shekh, a senior Palestinian official, accused Israel of waging "a fierce and open war" against the Palestinian people and said President Mahmoud Abbas would make "unprecedented decisions" in an upcoming emergency meeting.
The Israeli military said seven members of the paramilitary border police and the army suffered light and moderate wounds.
Nibal Farsakh, media and information officer at the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), said four ambulances have been directly targeted by Israeli forces in Jenin.
"It was such a hard day for all Palestinians and for our medical teams who work on the ground," Farsakh told Al Jazeera from Ramallah.
"Israeli occupation forces attacked four PRCS ambulances as they conducted their duty in Jenin," she said.
They were "directly targeted with live ammunition, causing material damage to the structure and the glass of the ambulances themselves", Farsakh added.
"One of the ambulances was also hit by a military vehicle before it was shot by the occupation forces," she said, adding that it was "taken out of service due to the attack".
EU calls on Israel to halt new settlements
The European Union called on Israel to not proceed with plans for new settlement units after at least five Palestinians were killed in a military operation in the West Bank on Monday.
Several dozen people were also injured, some of them critically, during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
"The European Union is strongly concerned by the latest events," a statement read.
"Military operations must be proportionate and in line with international humanitarian law," it added.
The EU called on Israel to not proceed with plans for more than 4,000 settlement units in the West Bank, in line with its long-standing "strong opposition" to Israel's settlement policy, the statement said.
"Settlements are illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten the viability of the two-state solution," it stated.
Source: Qatar Tribune
