Israel launched anti-tank munitions at the shop where the young Palestinian was killed [Getty]
A young Palestinian man was killed on Tuesday after Israeli soldiers opened fire on a shop in the city of Qalqilya in the north west of the occupied West Bank.
According to Palestinian media, the young man, Bara’a Miskawi, was killed after an Israeli special forces unit surrounded the shop and attacked it with an Energa anti-tank grenade. The Israeli military then withheld Miskawi’s body from his family.
He had been released from prison last year after spending 22 months in detention.
Later on Tuesday, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, released a statement mourning Miskawi, who they said was a member of the group and was killed during an exchange of fire with Israeli special forces in Qalqilya.
“The martyr’s cry of ‘At your service, Gaza’ during the clash will continue to echo across our West Bank as long as the brutal aggression against our people in Gaza persists,” the statement said.
For nearly two months, Israeli forces have been carrying out a wide-scale assault on the northern West Bank, destroying refugee camps—most notably in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams—and displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians in what appears to be a repetition of tactics used by Israel in Gaza.
Israeli forces have also been conducting near-daily raids on villages in the area, as well as accompanying settlers as they launch attacks against Palestinians, including physical assaults, theft of property, and the forced seizures of land and homes.Â
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned on Monday that thousands of displaced Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank are without proper shelter, essential services or access to healthcare.
According to the United Nations, some 40,000 residents have been displaced since 21 January, when the Israeli army launched an operation targeting Palestinians in the north of the territory.
The West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, is home to about three million Palestinians. Nearly 500,000 Israelis also live there in settlements that are illegal under international law.
“Israel must immediately halt the forcible displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank and the humanitarian response must be scaled up and reach those in need,” MSF said in a statement.
In response to the Israeli aggression, Hamas, which has a limited presence in the West Bank, has called for a general mobilisation on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in support of Gaza and Jerusalem.
It also called for escalating confrontations in the West Bank and for solidarity marches and events in cities around the world.
