Four Palestinians were killed and 44 others were wounded in armed clashes with the IDF in the Jenin refugee camp on Wednesday morning, after Israeli forces surrounded a home in the camp.The Palestinians killed were identified as Rahman Hazem, the brother of the terrorist who committed the Dizengoff shooting attack in April, and Ahmad Alawneh, a member of the Palestinian Authority's security services, Muhammad al-Wana and Muhammad Abu Naasa.
ג'נין: חמוש פלסטיני, איש המנגנונים שהגיע רעול פנים, פתח באש לעבר כוחות הביטחון ונורה למוות באש מדוייקת ע"י צלף pic.twitter.com/bKGtVRrFyg
— איתי בלומנטל Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) September 28, 2022
The IDF and Border Police announced on Wednesday morning that they had surrounded a house in the Jenin refugee camp in order to arrest two wanted suspects. After the suspects threw an explosive towards Israeli forces, the forces responded with gunfire and killed the two terrorists.
The two suspects, one of whom was identified by the IDF as Rahman Hazem, were involved in a number of recent shooting attacks, including an attack targeting a vehicle used by the Defense Ministry near Jalameh earlier this month. The two were also planning significant terrorist attacks for the near future.
تغطية صحفية: اشــتباكات مستمرة مع قوات الاحتلال في مخيم جنين. pic.twitter.com/V4Jp9tEfsq
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 28, 2022
Rahman was the brother of Ra'ad Hazem, the Palestinian terrorist who killed three people in a shooting attack on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv in April. His father, Fathi Hazem, and other members of his family have been on the run for months since the attack. Fathi has frequently made statements inciting violence and clashes with Israeli forces in videos shared by Palestinian media.
The clashes come as Israeli forces remain on high alert amid a heightened risk of terrorist attacks during the High Holidays, as well as a string of recent terrorist attacks in the West Bank.
The Fatah Movement called for a "day of rage" on Wednesday in response to the Israeli operations in Jenin.
PA president's office: 'Condemnations alone are no longer enough'
The spokesman for the Palestinian Authority presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeina, responded to the violence in Jenin on Wednesday, accusing Israel of "tampering with security and stability by continuing its policy of escalation" and stressing that "condemnations alone are no longer enough."
"This dangerous Israeli escalation will not give legitimacy, security and stability to Israel, whether in the Islamic and Christian holy sites or in Jenin or other occupied Palestinian territories," said Rudeina.
The spokesman added that "Israel is still a state outside international law, and that Israel and the United States of America have lost their credibility by demanding calm and maintaining stability, and on the ground, they practice all forms of escalation, killing and destruction against the Palestinian people, their land and their holy sites."
"Condemnations alone are no longer enough because the occupation still insists on crossing all red lines, whether in Jerusalem, Jenin, Nablus and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, and that the Israeli occupation must understand that the will and determination of the Palestinian people are stronger than the occupation and its tyranny."
Lapid: We will not be deterred and will not hesitate to act
Prime Minister Yair Lapid responded to the IDF operations in the Jenin camp, tweeting "The security forces acted with determination this morning in order to arrest a number of terrorists involved in planning attacks to kill Israelis, including the brother of the killer from the shooting attack on Dizengoff Street, who planned to continue the path of blood and death."
"We will not be deterred and will not hesitate to act against anyone who tries to raise his hand against the citizens of Israel and the security forces," said Lapid.
US Ambassador Tom Nides said Wednesday that the US is monitoring events in Jenin.
"We are watching very closely the activity that is going on in Jenin this morning. We are fully supportive of protecting Israelis to make sure that those who are lone terrorists are unable to do those activities.
"We work very closely with the Palestinian security forces to take the actions unilaterally that they are doing," he said.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said her country was "concerned about increasing tensions and violence in the West Bank among Palestinians, including the recent clashes in Jenin and Nablus. We are troubled by the overall trend of growing violence."
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.