Israeli soldiers in the settlement of Ofra, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, after an attack, on October 4, 2022. (Credit: Abbas MOMANI / AFP)
A Palestinian was shot dead and at least two others were injured by Israeli forces Wednesday during an operation near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Alaa Zaghal, 21, “died of a bullet wound to the head fired by the occupation [Israeli] army,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Israeli army confirmed that an operation in the village of Deir al-Hatab was ongoing. Local residents told AFP that the army had surrounded a house inside the village, which lies east of Nablus.
The violence was the latest to hit the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, an area that has witnessed near daily clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen since an escalation that began in March.
Nablus has increasingly become a target for Israeli operations following the emergence of a new armed faction, a loose coalition of fighters called “The Lions Den.”
The arrest of one of the group’s members by the Palestinian Authority security forces last month sparked clashes in the city between security forces and local militants, killing one.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six Day War of 1967. Since March, Israel has launched hundreds of raids in the northern West Bank, including Nablus and Jenin, following a wave of attacks targeting Israelis.
The raids sparked clashes that have killed dozens of Palestinians, including fighters.