Three Palestinians killed as Israel deploys helicopters in West Bank

Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank killed three Palestinians on Monday, in a raid that saw seven Israeli security personnel wounded and rare helicopter fire as the army said it pursued "wanted suspects".

"Three Palestinians were martyred as a result of the occupation (Israeli) aggression on Jenin" in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, adding at least 45 others were wounded.

One of those killed was a teenager, 15-year-old Ahmed Saqer, the ministry said in a statement. It named the other two as Qassam Abu Saria, 29, and Khaled Assassa, 21.

Israel said that two soldiers and five Israel Border Police officers were wounded in the fighting.

The Israeli army said a "massive exchange of fire" erupted as forces entered the city, the scene of frequent clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants, to arrest two "wanted suspects".

"IDF (army) helicopters opened fire toward the gunmen in order to assist in extraction of the forces" after "large numbers of explosive devices were hurled at the forces", it added in a statement.

The army said a military vehicle had been damaged by an explosive device.

A Palestinian intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity it was the first time since 2002 -- during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising -- that the Israeli army has fired missiles from an aircraft during a raid in Jenin.

The United Nations rights chief, Volker Turk, said he was "extremely worried by the deteriorating situation".

"Unlawful killings of Palestinians by the Israeli security forces have increased, including apparent extrajudicial executions," he added.

Violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has escalated over the past year, coinciding with the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took power in December.

Jenin's deputy governor, Kamal Abu al-Rub, told AFP the Israeli forces had launched the raid at around 04:00 am (0100 GMT).

"The army stormed the (Jenin refugee) camp and the city after the dawn prayer in large numbers, and there was intense gunfire," he said.

An AFP photographer in the city confirmed that fighting was ongoing as of 12:30 am (0930 GMT).

The Palestinian health minister, Mai al-Kaila, called in a statement for the "urgent" dispatch of blood and medical supplies to Jenin.

Hussein al-Sheikh, the Palestinian Authority's civil affairs minister, said a "fierce and open war is being waged against the Palestinian people... by the occupation (Israeli) forces".

He called for the Palestinian leadership to take "unprecedented decisions" without elaborating.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War and its forces regularly launch incursions into Palestinian cities, which are nominally under the control of president Mahmud Abbas's Palestinian Authority.

Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp -- which was besieged by the army in 2002 and saw deadly fighting -- have frequently been the site of violent clashes between Israel and the Palestinians.

In March, four Palestinians were killed during the a raid on the camp.

Ten Palestinians were killed in another operation in the camp in January -- at the time the deadliest single raid in the West Bank for 20 years. An incursion into Nablus the following month killed 11 Palestinians.

Since the start of the year, at least 162 Palestinians, 21 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian have been killed in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources.

The figures include combatants as well as civilians and, on the Israeli side, three members of the Arab minority.




AFP