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Death toll mounts in West bank

Oct 20, 2023

Ramallah [Palestine], October 20: Zionist forces killed nine Palestinians Thursday in multiple incidents across the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said. At least 73 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Zionist forces or settlers since the ongoing escalation in the decades-long Zionist occupation of Palestine October 7, according to the ministry. The latest fatalities were seven Palestinians killed during an attack on Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, the ministry said.
The Zionist occupation forces had imposed a "tight military siege" on the camp where it "banned movement, raided and ransacked homes, and bulldozed streets," according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA. "A large occupation army force, accompanied by military bulldozers, stormed the camp from various sides and raided dozens of homes while vandalizing them. . The occupation bulldozers destroyed sections of the main street of the camp and a monument at its entrance, as well as many side streets," said WAFA in a statement.
During confrontations early Thursday morning between young Palestinian men and the occupation soldiers, who fired live bullets, a young Palestinian boy, TahaMahameed, 16, was shot and killed. Three others were injured and transferred to the hospital in Tulkarm, according to WAFA. The assault continued later in the afternoon as "occupation forces set up military checkpoints at the main intersections of Tulkarm city and prevented the movement of people and cars." "With no ambulances allowed in, residents said the wounded were smuggled out of the camp and rushed to the hospital in Tulkarm in private cars," said WAFA.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its medics treated 25 people in Nur Shams, the majority for gunshot wounds. "Ambulances are being detained by occupying forces with injured people inside," the organization said in a statement. The Zionist military did not immediately comment on the Nur Shams fatalities when contacted by AFP. Troops were "continuing to operate in the camp to thwart terror activity", an army statement said.
Zionist raids across Palestine
In separate incidents, the Palestinian health ministry said Zionist forces shot dead a 17-year-old in Dheisheh refugee camp, near Bethlehem, and a 32-year-old in Budrus to the west of Ramallah. In Budrus, the Zionist occupation military said people "hurled Molotov cocktails and other objects at the forces", burned tires and trash cans, prompting soldiers to shoot at them.
Zionist occupation forces detained Thursday morning 41 Palestinians during a raid at the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and a similar number detained during raids at several towns and villages in the Ramallah governorate, while 50 workers from the Gaza Strip who were kicked out of Zionist-controlled areas and were staying in Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem were also rounded up, among others detained elsewhere in the occupied territories.
Four others were also detained during the raid at Dheisheh refugee camp. Two Palestinians were also detained in Tubas, in the north of the West Bank, where confrontations broke out and several people were shot and injured by army gunfire. The Palestinian Prisoner's Society said Israel rounded up at least 120 Palestinians, not including the Gaza workers, the highest number since Oct 7, which included lawmakers, civic leaders, former prisoners, and journalists. It said Israel detained at least 850 Palestinians since the start of the aggression on Gaza on Oct 7. - Agencies
Source: Kuwait Times