Eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank in the past 24 hours, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The most serious incident was an Israeli raid overnight in the city of Jenin, in which five were killed.

The Israeli army said it was mounting a raid to capture a Palestinian who was suspected of involvement in an ambush that killed two Israelis in August.

Palestinian factions have called for a strike in Jenin to mourn those killed.

The West Bank has seen almost daily clashes for more than a year and a half, after Israel suffered a wave of deadly violence by Palestinian militants.

Israeli forces have gone into West Bank towns and cities in search of those suspected of being involved in shootings and stabbings or planning such attacks.

Jenin has been a flashpoint, and hundreds of Palestinians - both fighters and civilians - have been killed.

Back in July, Israeli forces launched an incursion into the city's refugee camp, which is regarded as a hotbed of militants.

Thirteen Palestinians were killed in the fiercest confrontation in the West Bank for 20 years.

In addition, Israeli settlers have responded to killings carried out by Palestinian gunmen with rampages in Palestinian towns and villages.

So, the area was already at boiling point before the Hamas assault on Israel on 7 October.

In the weeks since then, the UN says some 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in a new escalation of the conflict. Four Israelis have been killed by Palestinians.

Even as Israel has been fighting a war with Hamas in Gaza, it has tightened its controls on the West Bank in a bid to prevent a spill-over of the conflict.

But this appears only to have further undermined the Palestinian Authority and boosted the rise of militant groups in Jenin and beyond.

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by Sebastian Usher | BBC Arab affairs editor

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]