PREQUEL TO HAMAS INVASION
Islamic Jihad chief denounces normalisation talks with IsraelNidal al-Mughrabi
Fri, October 6, 2023
Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants participate in an anti-Israel military parade marking the 36th anniversary of the movement's foundation in Gaza City
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - The head of Islamic Jihad denounced Arab attempts to normalise relations with Israel on Friday, as the militant group staged demonstrations in the Palestinian territories and neighbouring states amid Israeli efforts to make peace with Saudi Arabia.
"Those who rush towards normalisation with the Zionist project must know, and they do know, that this is their acknowledgment that Palestine is not ours, and that Jerusalem with its mosque is not ours," Ziad al-Nakhala, who is wanted by Israel and designated a terrorist by the United States and others, said in the video address.
The remarks were broadcast to demonstrators in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria, who marked the 36th anniversary of the founding of the movement.
Armed and masked militants attended the Gaza rally dressed in military style uniforms. Organizers placed two giant flags of Israel and the United States for participants to step on as they arrived at the gathering at an open-air field.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which seeks the destruction of Israel, has fought repeated battles with the Israeli military in recent years and has always rejected any political compromise. It is based in Gaza, a strip of territory controlled by rival militant group Hamas, and also has foreign headquarters in Beirut and Damascus.
U.S. President Joe Biden has encouraged Saudi Arabia and Israel to seek an agreement that would build on earlier accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as Morocco and Sudan. Any deal is seen as some way off, with the status of the Palestinians among the key issues to be decided.
Al-Nakhala also condemned the Palestinian Authority, the body born out of the Oslo Accords 30 years ago which exercises limited governance in the occupied West Bank, as its security forces clashed briefly with Islamic Jihad militants at a rally in the town of Tulkarm.
"Israel kills us with American weapons, and the so-called security services chase us and arrest us upon American decision too," he said, demanding the PA release all Palestinian militants it held in detention.
Hours after his comments, unidentified gunmen in the northern West Bank city of Jenin opened fire on the local headquarters of the Palestinian administration.
Al-Nakhala said Islamic Jihad remained opposed not only to normalising relations with Israel, but also to the entire peace process that started with the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978.
"We affirm that our resistance continues, and the Islamic Jihad Movement, born from the spirit of Islam, still perseveres in its path. It has not compromised and will not surrender to delusions," he said.
(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi; Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Peter Graff)
Israeli troops kill two Palestinian gunmen, suspected shooter, in West Bank
Fri, October 6, 2023
Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants participate in an anti-Israel military parade marking the 36th anniversary of the movement's foundation in Gaza City
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - The head of Islamic Jihad denounced Arab attempts to normalise relations with Israel on Friday, as the militant group staged demonstrations in the Palestinian territories and neighbouring states amid Israeli efforts to make peace with Saudi Arabia.
"Those who rush towards normalisation with the Zionist project must know, and they do know, that this is their acknowledgment that Palestine is not ours, and that Jerusalem with its mosque is not ours," Ziad al-Nakhala, who is wanted by Israel and designated a terrorist by the United States and others, said in the video address.
The remarks were broadcast to demonstrators in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria, who marked the 36th anniversary of the founding of the movement.
Armed and masked militants attended the Gaza rally dressed in military style uniforms. Organizers placed two giant flags of Israel and the United States for participants to step on as they arrived at the gathering at an open-air field.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which seeks the destruction of Israel, has fought repeated battles with the Israeli military in recent years and has always rejected any political compromise. It is based in Gaza, a strip of territory controlled by rival militant group Hamas, and also has foreign headquarters in Beirut and Damascus.
U.S. President Joe Biden has encouraged Saudi Arabia and Israel to seek an agreement that would build on earlier accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as Morocco and Sudan. Any deal is seen as some way off, with the status of the Palestinians among the key issues to be decided.
Al-Nakhala also condemned the Palestinian Authority, the body born out of the Oslo Accords 30 years ago which exercises limited governance in the occupied West Bank, as its security forces clashed briefly with Islamic Jihad militants at a rally in the town of Tulkarm.
"Israel kills us with American weapons, and the so-called security services chase us and arrest us upon American decision too," he said, demanding the PA release all Palestinian militants it held in detention.
Hours after his comments, unidentified gunmen in the northern West Bank city of Jenin opened fire on the local headquarters of the Palestinian administration.
Al-Nakhala said Islamic Jihad remained opposed not only to normalising relations with Israel, but also to the entire peace process that started with the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978.
"We affirm that our resistance continues, and the Islamic Jihad Movement, born from the spirit of Islam, still perseveres in its path. It has not compromised and will not surrender to delusions," he said.
(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi; Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Peter Graff)
Israeli troops kill two Palestinian gunmen, suspected shooter, in West Bank
Reuters
Updated Thu, October 5, 2023
Military items which Palestinian gunmen say were seized from Israeli forces in a gunfight are displayed, in Tulkarm
TULKARM, West Bank (Reuters) -Two Palestinian gunmen were killed and five Israeli soldiers were wounded in occupied West Bank clashes on Thursday and Israeli troops killed the suspect in a later shooting attack on Israeli motorists.
The military said the two gunmen in the first incident fired shots from a car at an Israeli vehicle near the town of Tulkarm. It said a pursuit and gunfight ensued, and soldiers killed the two men before recovering an assault rifle from their car.
The Islamist militant group Hamas claimed the slain Palestinians, aged 23 and 27, as its members.
Hamas and another armed faction, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said they had inflicted Israeli casualties in gun and bomb ambushes in a separate clash within Tulkarm.
The army said five Israeli soldiers were wounded in that incident, as they detained a Palestinian militant. Islamic Jihad said one of its members was in Israeli custody.
Hours later, a suspected Palestinian gunman shot at an Israeli vehicle driving through the village of Huwara, emergency services said. There were no casualties in the incident, footage of which soon circulated on social media.
The video, which could not immediately be verified by Reuters, shows a man opening fire at the back of a car standing in traffic before the vehicle swerves over to the opposite lane and the man runs after it while appearing to fire more shots.
The military said it tracked the suspect down and "neutralised" him in an exchange of fire. The Palestinian Health Ministry said he was killed by the Israeli forces.
The West Bank, among the territories where Palestinians seek statehood, has experienced a surge of violence in recent months amid an almost decade-old impasse in U.S.-sponsored peacemaking.
(Reporting by Ali Sawafta, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Howard Goller)
Updated Thu, October 5, 2023
Military items which Palestinian gunmen say were seized from Israeli forces in a gunfight are displayed, in Tulkarm
TULKARM, West Bank (Reuters) -Two Palestinian gunmen were killed and five Israeli soldiers were wounded in occupied West Bank clashes on Thursday and Israeli troops killed the suspect in a later shooting attack on Israeli motorists.
The military said the two gunmen in the first incident fired shots from a car at an Israeli vehicle near the town of Tulkarm. It said a pursuit and gunfight ensued, and soldiers killed the two men before recovering an assault rifle from their car.
The Islamist militant group Hamas claimed the slain Palestinians, aged 23 and 27, as its members.
Hamas and another armed faction, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said they had inflicted Israeli casualties in gun and bomb ambushes in a separate clash within Tulkarm.
The army said five Israeli soldiers were wounded in that incident, as they detained a Palestinian militant. Islamic Jihad said one of its members was in Israeli custody.
Hours later, a suspected Palestinian gunman shot at an Israeli vehicle driving through the village of Huwara, emergency services said. There were no casualties in the incident, footage of which soon circulated on social media.
The video, which could not immediately be verified by Reuters, shows a man opening fire at the back of a car standing in traffic before the vehicle swerves over to the opposite lane and the man runs after it while appearing to fire more shots.
The military said it tracked the suspect down and "neutralised" him in an exchange of fire. The Palestinian Health Ministry said he was killed by the Israeli forces.
The West Bank, among the territories where Palestinians seek statehood, has experienced a surge of violence in recent months amid an almost decade-old impasse in U.S.-sponsored peacemaking.
(Reporting by Ali Sawafta, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Howard Goller)
Israeli forces kill 3 Palestinian militants in West Bank
AFP
Thu, October 5, 2023
People gather around a blood stain surrounded with leaves near the West Bank city of Tulkarm where two Palestinians were reportedly killed during clashes with Israeli forces (Zain JAAFAR)
Israeli forces killed three Palestinian militants in two separate firefights in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The Israeli army confirmed its soldiers had been engaged in a shootout that killed two gunmen near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank.
The Palestinian health ministry named the two men killed as Abdul Rahman Atta, 23, and Huthaifa Faris, 27, saying they died as a result of "occupation (Israeli) bullets". Hamas identified them as members of its armed wing.
A third Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers later on Thursday after opening fire at a car further south in the West Bank, the army said. The Palestinian ministry confirmed a death without identifying the slain man.
The army said earlier that five Israeli police officers were wounded by an explosive device in a separate clash, which was confirmed by Hamas militants, also in the northern West Bank.
Israel's military said the deadly gunfight in the Tulkarem area had erupted after soldiers identified a "suspicious vehicle" near Shufa village.
"Soldiers engaged and, after exchanges of fire, the two terrorists were neutralised," the military said.
The incident came after reports that an Israeli vehicle was shot at in the area, according to the army statement.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces "prevented our crews from treating them and took them away" from the scene at a Shufa checkpoint.
Following the shootings, Palestinians gathered on a road around bloodstains which had been marked out by leaves arranged in a heart shape on the ground, an AFP photographer said.
- Surging violence -
Violence also rocked the Tulkarem refugee camp during a raid by Israeli forces.
The military said forces had engaged in "an exchange of fire" and that militants hurled explosives at them.
As they withdrew from the camp, five Israeli police officers were wounded by an explosive device.
Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group said their fighters ambushed Israeli forces in Tulkarem, using improvised explosive devices.
They "detonated a number of IEDs against the vehicles storming (the camp), then engaged in clashes" at close range with the Israeli forces, Hamas said in a statement.
On Thursday afternoon, the army said an armed Palestinian had opened fired at a car in Huwara, a Palestinian town that has become the site of frequent violence since the start of the year.
Troops chased down the man and "neutralised" him in "an exchange of fire... near the scene of the attack", the army said, with the Palestinian health ministry reporting a death.
A surge in violence has hit the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
There has been a rise in army raids, Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis and Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property.
So far this year at least 246 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners have been killed in the conflict, including combatants and civilians on both sides, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.
bur/crb/mj/ami/kir
AFP
Thu, October 5, 2023
People gather around a blood stain surrounded with leaves near the West Bank city of Tulkarm where two Palestinians were reportedly killed during clashes with Israeli forces (Zain JAAFAR)
Israeli forces killed three Palestinian militants in two separate firefights in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The Israeli army confirmed its soldiers had been engaged in a shootout that killed two gunmen near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank.
The Palestinian health ministry named the two men killed as Abdul Rahman Atta, 23, and Huthaifa Faris, 27, saying they died as a result of "occupation (Israeli) bullets". Hamas identified them as members of its armed wing.
A third Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers later on Thursday after opening fire at a car further south in the West Bank, the army said. The Palestinian ministry confirmed a death without identifying the slain man.
The army said earlier that five Israeli police officers were wounded by an explosive device in a separate clash, which was confirmed by Hamas militants, also in the northern West Bank.
Israel's military said the deadly gunfight in the Tulkarem area had erupted after soldiers identified a "suspicious vehicle" near Shufa village.
"Soldiers engaged and, after exchanges of fire, the two terrorists were neutralised," the military said.
The incident came after reports that an Israeli vehicle was shot at in the area, according to the army statement.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces "prevented our crews from treating them and took them away" from the scene at a Shufa checkpoint.
Following the shootings, Palestinians gathered on a road around bloodstains which had been marked out by leaves arranged in a heart shape on the ground, an AFP photographer said.
- Surging violence -
Violence also rocked the Tulkarem refugee camp during a raid by Israeli forces.
The military said forces had engaged in "an exchange of fire" and that militants hurled explosives at them.
As they withdrew from the camp, five Israeli police officers were wounded by an explosive device.
Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group said their fighters ambushed Israeli forces in Tulkarem, using improvised explosive devices.
They "detonated a number of IEDs against the vehicles storming (the camp), then engaged in clashes" at close range with the Israeli forces, Hamas said in a statement.
On Thursday afternoon, the army said an armed Palestinian had opened fired at a car in Huwara, a Palestinian town that has become the site of frequent violence since the start of the year.
Troops chased down the man and "neutralised" him in "an exchange of fire... near the scene of the attack", the army said, with the Palestinian health ministry reporting a death.
A surge in violence has hit the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
There has been a rise in army raids, Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis and Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property.
So far this year at least 246 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners have been killed in the conflict, including combatants and civilians on both sides, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.
bur/crb/mj/ami/kir
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