Three Palestinians were killed early Monday morning by Israeli forces in the Balata refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement: report local media. This happened during a raid on a camp in the city of Nablus, which, with 30,000 people, is the largest refugee camp in the West Bank. The Israeli army has not yet responded to the raid.
According to the Palestinian state news agency, the Israeli army raided the camp with bulldozers and ambulances barred access to the camp. On images posted on social media were shared, Israeli soldiers can be seen driving vehicles, including bulldozers, through the densely populated camp. Gunfire could be heard in some videos.
The raid came after the chief of the Israeli army’s Central Command signed an order on Thursday allowing Jewish settlers to establish a permanent presence in Homesh, an outpost north of the occupied West Bank. On Monday morning, the US government formally condemned that move in a statement. The US State Department has repeatedly called on Israel to refrain from any new actions that escalate tensions with the Palestinians. In recent weeks there have been inter alia mediation attempts from Egypt, in the hope of easing tensions in the region.