Thousands of Palestinians in the northern West Bank cities of Tulkarm and Nablus buried five Palestinians who were killed at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces. 

Two of the five, Samer Salah al-Shafi’i , and Hamza Jamil Kharyoush, both 22, were killed Saturday morning in the Tulkarm refugee camp, Nur Shams. The other three were killed in March, but their bodies were held by Israel until Friday. 

The bodies of the two Tulkarm youth were buried after their families gave them a farewell look at their homes, followed by prayers performed at Al-Salam Mosque in the Tulkarm refugee camp. 

Earlier in the day, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that “two martyrs, shot by the occupation, arrived at Dr. Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital ..  as a result of the Israeli occupation’s aggression in the city of Tulkarm.” 

Israeli Occupation Forces Kill Two Young Palestinians during Military Raid in Tulkarm

According to the ministry, Al-Shafi’i was shot in the neck, chest and abdomen, while Khreiush was shot in the chest, abdomen and left leg.

Local sources reported that Israeli forces had stormed the city of Tulkarm and its camp, which led to the outbreak of confrontations and clashes with armed Palestinian fighters. 

Since the morning hours, the Tulkarem governorate has been on a general strike, in response to a call announced by the national and Islamic forces in the governorate to mourn the two men, “who were executed in cold blood by the occupation forces.”

The Nablus Three

Meanwhile, in the city of Nablus, thousands of Palestinians participated in the funeral of three Palestinians who were martyred at the hands of the occupation on March 12, and their bodies were only released on Friday.

At the funeral ceremony in the western cemetery in the city, masked fighters fired in the air, as an expression of their rage at the continued killing of Palestinians.

Israeli Occupation Forces Kill Three Young Palestinian Men near Nablus

On Friday, the Palestinian Public Authority for Civil Affairs (the official contact with Israel) announced in a statement that it had received “the bodies of the martyrs of Nablus, who were detained by the occupation, and they are Udai Othman Shami, Jihad Mohammad Shami, and Mohammad Ra’ed Dabek.”

On March 12, the Lions’ Den group announced that three of its members were killed in a clash with the Israeli occupation forces at the Surra checkpoint, southwest of Nablus.

Reactions 

Commenting on the killing of the two young men in Tulkarm, the Palestinian government said in a brief statement by its spokesman Ibrahim Melhem that Israel practices “field executions”, holding it responsible for its “crimes”.

The statement added that the occupation soldiers are practicing their “crimes with field executions, without the slightest regard for international laws and humanitarian laws.”

The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas mourned the two fighters, Hamza Khreyoush and Samer El Shafi’i. Hamas said that the two martyrs of Tulkarm are from the Al-Qassam Brigades and that they engaged in a clash with the Israeli force, and inflicted injuries among its members.

Hamas stressed the need to mobilize all popular and field energies to repel Israeli aggression and defend the Palestinian people and their sanctities.

For its part, the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades mourned the two fighters, asserting that, “Our response will be as great as our pain.”

Lion’s Den to Expand Confrontation in Support of Palestinian Prisoners

In turn, the Islamic Jihad Movement held the Israeli occupation government fully responsible, stressing that the response of the Resistance and the Palestinian people to this crime and others is coming.

The socialist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine mourned the two victims of the Nour Shams camp in Tulkarm, stressing that the occupation will pay the price for this crime and all its crimes against the Palestinian people.

It also called on the Palestinian Resistance groups to escalate the resistance and clash with the occupation forces in all cities of the West Bank, in defense of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the prisoners in Israeli prisons.

For months, the Israeli occupation army has been carrying out deadly military operations, mostly in the northern West Bank, concentrated in the cities of Nablus and Jenin, under the pretext of pursuing wanted persons. 

Since the beginning of the year, Israeli attacks have resulted in the death of 110 Palestinians, according to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

(Al-Jazeera, The Palestine Chronicle)