Two Palestinians Killed in Refugee Camp Shootout Following ISIS Attacks

Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces in a raid on a refugee camp on Thursday morning as tensions between Palestinians and Israelis rise in the aftermath of a series of fatal ISIS attacks.

Israel has ramped up its surveillance and its police are on high alert after 11 people were killed in 3 separate attacks carried out by Palestinians in the space of 7 days.  

The Palestinian Authority said Israeli security forces killed 2 people and injured 15 more in a dawn raid in Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank. Thousands attended their burials today and chanted anti-Israeli slogans. 

The Israeli Army said that the operations on Thursday were carried out to arrest the suspects. 

Sanad Abu Attiyeh, 17, and Yazeed al-Saadi, 23, were identified as the victims. The pair were killed in a shootout after Israeli soldiers raided their home to arrest them, accusing them of being linked to the recent deadly attacks.  

The Israeli Army said, “IDF soldiers & Israel Border Police conducted counterterrorism activities in Jenin to apprehend terrorist suspects this morning. Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the soldiers, who responded with fire. 1 IDF soldier was injured & evacuated to a hospital for medical attention.”

In a separate incident, a 30-year-old Palestinian man was shot dead at a bus stop in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in southern Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli Army said the man had stabbed and wounded an Israeli civilian. 

Israelis and Palestinians are used to a spike in violence during the religious holidays of Passover, Easter and Ramadan as Jews, Christians and Muslims share key holy sites in Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Wednesday night that the Israeli security forces including Shin Bet, the country’s domestic security service, have "significantly increased their intelligence operations in order to reach, in a timely manner, those who are planning to carry out attacks".

He called on Israelis to carry guns, saying, “Whoever has a licence to carry a weapon, this is the time to carry it.” 

Last year in May, tension over the planned evictions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah was the catalyst for a new 11-day-war between Israel and Palestinian militant groups that killed 256 people in the Gaza Strip and 13 in Israel.

The recent attacks have stoked fears of inter-communal violence that followed last year’s war. 

Ziad Al-Nakhala, the leader of the Islamic Jihad, based in the Gaza Strip, released a statement saying that the group would step up its activities in Jenin after the military raid.

The Israeli Army also raided and ransacked the house of Diaa Hamarsheh, the Palestinian who carried out an attack on Tuesday in the ultra-orthodox town of Bnei Brak of Tel Aviv and killed five Israelis.

Bennett said he had ordered the demolition of Hamarsheh’s house to “create deterrence”. 

Reciprocal violence could continue to take more lives in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, tensions have grown in the south of the country. Jewish vigilantes have set up a militia to "save the Negev from the problematic absence of personal security," led by a former police officer, Almog Cohen, a regional coordinator for the far-right Otzma Yehudit. 

The group, Barel Rangers, officially launched on 20th March and has 200 volunteers, according to its founder. The group was initially backed by the Israeli Police, who withdrew support after reports emerged describing the group’s rhetoric online as “racist”.