Palestinian teacher among two killed by Israeli forces in Jenin raid

Israeli troops killed two Palestinians in overnight raids on Thursday in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

Jawad Farid Bawaqta, 57, a high school teacher and father of six children, was shot in the chest, and Adham Mohammad Jabarin, 28, was shot in the torso, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Both men were from the Jenin refugee camp.

Palestinian media said Jabarin was a senior member of the Jenin Brigade, an armed group made up mainly of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) members.

Eyewitnesses said a sniper shot Bawaqta outside his home while he was providing first aid to Jabarin after he was wounded. The sports teacher and youth leader was not reported as being a member of any armed group.

The Israeli army said its forces returned fire after coming under heavy fire during the arrest raid on Jenin refugee camp. One soldier was lightly wounded and was taken to hospital for treatment, it added. 

Palestinian media said snipers were deployed on rooftops, and heavy exchanges of gunfire were reported.

The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, said three other Palestinians were wounded during the raid, and four were detained, including two siblings. Some reports said one of the detainees is a senior PIJ member.  

Wafa added that Israeli forces blocked ambulances from entering Jenin, forcing local residents to transport the casualties to hospital by private cars.

Nightly raids

The latest killings bring the number of Palestinians killed this year to 17, including four children.

The Israeli military conducts near-nightly arrest raids, which often turn deadly. 

Omar Lotfi Khumour, a 14-year-old boy, was killed on Monday in Bethlehem, the youngest victim this year.

At least 167 people were killed last year in the occupied West Bank, the highest death toll since the Second Intifada. 

Most of the raids have focused on Nablus and Jenin in recent months, which are home to a growing number of Palestinian fighters.

In March 2022, Israel launched the Break the Wave military campaign, focused on crushing armed Palestinian resistance, which has seen a revival in the West Bank.

According to figures provided by the Israeli army, there have been at least 285 shootings at Israeli targets - mainly army posts and checkpoints - by Palestinians in 2022, compared with 61 in 2021, 31 in 2020 and 19 in 2019.