JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said early Thursday that it had killed five more terrorists in a large operation in the occupied West Bank. One of the militants was a well-known local commander.
Mohammed Jaber, also known as Abu Shujaa, was a commander in the Islamic Jihad militant group. He was found dead in the Nur Shams refugee camp on the outskirts of the city of Tulkarem, but the Palestinian government did not report the death right away.
When it was said that he had been killed in an Israeli operation earlier this year, he became a hero to many Palestinians. Then, he showed up at the funeral of other terrorists without being expected and was praised by the crowd.
He was killed in a shootout with Israeli forces early Thursday morning, along with four other terrorists. The five had been hiding in a mosque. It said Abu Shujaa was involved in many attacks on Israelis, including one that killed someone in June, and was planning more.
The military said that during the raid in Tulkarem, another militant was caught and a member of Israel’s Border Police was slightly hurt.
Israel began a big operation in the West Bank late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. Hamas said that 10 of its fighters were killed in different places. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that an 11th person was killed, but did not say if he was a fighter or a civilian.
Since Hamas’ attack from Gaza on October 7 started the war in Gaza, there has been a lot more violence in the West Bank.
During the 1948 war that led to the birth of Israel, about 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced out of what is now Israel. Nur Shams is one of many built-up refugee camps in the Middle East that are related to that war. There are a lot of militant bases in the camps.
In the Mideast war of 1967, Israel took over the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians want all three areas for their future state.
The 3 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank are ruled by the Israeli forces, and towns and cities are run by the Palestinian Authority, which is backed by the West. There are more than 100 towns on land that most countries in the world think is illegal, but they are home to more than 500,000 Israeli citizens who live there.