Palestine will hold Israel to account for bloody military raid in Ariha: Foreign Ministry

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates says it will not stand idly by in the face of the bloody shooting of several Palestinian men during an Israeli military raid on Ariha in the eastern occupied West Bank, stressing it will hold the Tel Aviv regime to account for its crimes against Palestinians.

“The State of Palestine deplores Israel’s recurrent targeted killings and unlawful use of collective punishment, which take place in flagrant violation of the most underlying principles of humanity, morality, dignity, and rule of law,” the ministry said in a statement.

It added that Israeli forces killed at least five Palestinians and injured tens of others during the raid on Monday, noting that since the beginning of the year, Israeli troops have killed more than 40 Palestinians, with "full impunity and no accountability."

“The entire Palestinian nation living under Israel’s illegal occupation is considered protected persons as per international law. Israel’s indiscriminate punishment and killings of Palestinians amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and require actions beyond condemnations,” the Palestinian foreign ministry pointed out.

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“This is not a cycle of violence, but rather a campaign of targeted killings against Palestinians. Israel continues to violate its obligations towards the protected population and disregards its statutory duty to end occupation,” the statement added.

Israel is trying to create irreversible conditions on the ground in the Gaza Strip, Jenin, Ariha and elsewhere in order to "maintain its illegal occupation as well as the apartheid regime, and pursue annexationism,” the Palestinian foreign ministry said.

It called on the international community and UN Secretary General Anonio Guterres to "act swiftly and concretely, uphold international law to secure protection of the Palestinian nation, and put an end to Israel’s grave violations," stressing," The State of Palestine will not stop efforts to hold Israel to account for its crimes against our people.”

The Israeli military said in a statement that it had killed seven men in total during the large-scale raid on the Aqabet Jabr refugee camp – which has been under an Israeli siege for more than a week, in the early hours of Monday.

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It added that the fatalities included two men, who were responsible for an attempted shooting attack in Ariha on January 28, and five others who had engaged Israeli forces in fighting during the raid.

Israeli forces launch raids on various cities of the occupied West Bank almost on a daily basis under the pretext of detaining what the regime calls “wanted” Palestinians. The raids usually lead to violent confrontations with residents.

Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested.

The United Nations marked 2022 as the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in 16 years.

Israeli forces killed at least 171 Palestinians in the West Bank and occupied East al-Quds last year, including more than 30 children. At least 9,000 others were injured as well.

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