Seven Israeli Soldiers Wounded in Violent Clashes in West Bank’s Jenin
Israeli forces clash with Palestinians during a large-scale Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. At least three Palestinians were killed, Palestinian health authorities said early Monday.
i24 News – Seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday, the IDF confirmed.
“During the operation, two IDF soldiers were slightly and moderately wounded. Five additional Israel Border Police officers were wounded, two were moderately wounded and three lightly wounded,” the IDF spokesperson’s statement said.
“The fighters were evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment. Their families have been notified,” the statement added.
According to the IDF spokesperson, a massive exchange of fire took place between the forces and armed gunmen when they were operating to apprehend two wanted suspects.
“As the security forces exited the city, a military vehicle was hit by an explosive device, damaging the vehicle,” the IDF statement said.
Senior IDF officials said that since the car was attacked at 07:10 a.m. (local time) Israeli forces were operating near the Jenin refugee camp.
Following the attack on the vehicle, Israel carried out a rare air attack the first in the West Bank since 2002. Fire was fired at the helicopter, the officials added.
“In addition, after identifying armed gunmen in the city of Jenin, IDF helicopters opened fire toward the gunmen in order to assist in extraction of the forces,” the IDF spokesperson said.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed the IDF actions during the Jenin operation, saying they “showed courage and professionalism under heavy fire.”
“There are no compromises in the fight against terrorism. We will continue to fight terrorism proactively. We will use all the means at our disposal and strike terrorists wherever they may be,” he said.
“Terrorists will not find a safe haven – not in Jenin, not it Nablus and not in Gaza,” the minister stressed.
The Palestinian health ministry said at least 62 people were wounded, four gunmen are reportedly dead. Two wanted persons were arrested – one in Jenin and one in the nearby village of Wadi Fukin.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad‘s Al-Quds Brigade said their fighters are engaged in clashes with the IDF in multiple locations in the city. According to their statement, there have also detonated a number of explosive devices targeting Israeli forces.
The improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are now the biggest challenge for the IDF during operations in the West Bank. Tens of them are being used against Israeli forces in every raid. Although many are home-made they are still able to hit army vehicles and make them stop, which leads to soldiers being exposed to live fire.
The post Seven Israeli Soldiers Wounded in Violent Clashes in West Bank’s Jenin first appeared on Algemeiner.com.