JERUSALEM: Tensions in the West Bank escalated further as Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during a military raid in the village of Al-Aqaba, located in the northern region of the West Bank. The victim was identified as Abdul Rahim Fayez Ghannam, 36 years old, who succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Palestinian ministry.
Eyewitnesses on the scene described a harrowing situation as Israeli troops entered the village and launched an operation. In addition to live gunfire, reports indicate that Israeli forces employed shoulder-fired missiles and grenades during the violent confrontation.
Following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area, local Palestinian residents surveyed the aftermath, discovering bullet marks and a substantial hole in the wall of one house, a stark reminder of the intensity of the confrontation.
Israeli Forces Violence in West Bank
Mourners gathered to pay their respects at the funeral of Abdul Rahim Fayez Ghannam, whose head was draped with a traditional keffiyeh while his body was shrouded in the Palestinian flag, symbolizing a somber reminder of the ongoing violence that has plagued the region.
The incident comes in the wake of increasing violence in the West Bank, with the United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA reporting that the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank this year has reached its highest levels since 2005. Just a day earlier, Israeli forces were involved in the death of a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in Jerusalem.
According to an AFP tally based on official sources, at least 225 Palestinians have lost their lives this year in confrontations with Israeli forces, highlighting the urgent need for a resolution to the ongoing conflict and the pressing humanitarian concerns it raises.
