Israeli forces kill 4, injure 44 in West Bank raid

At least four Palestinians were killed and 44 others injured on Wednesday after Israeli forces carried out a raid in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement, reported Xinhua.

The incident took place in the flashpoint refugee camp of Jenin in the northern West Bank, a focal point of six-month-long Israeli raids in the West Bank that often trigger violent clashes. The Israeli raids came after a string of street attacks in Israel earlier this year.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the strike in Jenin targeted two Palestinians suspected of being involved in "several recent shooting attacks."

Following intelligence provided by Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency, Israeli border police officers and soldiers surrounded a building in which the two Palestinians were located, the Israeli military said.

Palestinian men opened fire at the forces and an explosive device was detonated in the backyard of the building, according to the Israeli military. The building caught fire after the Israeli troops fired bullets and an anti-tank missile at it.

The fatalities included Rahman Hazam, a brother of an assailant who killed three in a shooting attack in central Tel Aviv in April, and Ahmed Nazmi Alawneh, a member of the security service of the Palestinian Authority.

No injuries have been reported among the Israeli forces. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh denounced the incident. "The Israeli occupation still underestimates the lives of our Palestinian people, and is tampering with security and stability by continuing its policy of escalation," he said in a statement.

The Palestinian news agency of WAFA reported that a general commercial strike was called in most West Bank cities in mourning of the dead and in protest against the Israeli assault in Jenin.