JERUSALEM: Three Israelis and dozens of Palestinians were wounded in overnight clashes after militants fired on a Jewish pilgrimage to a shrine in the occupied West Bank, the army said Thursday.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it treated 64 injured Palestinians, most of them suffering from the effects of tear gas inhalation.
The Israeli army “escorted the entrance of hundreds of worshippers to Joseph’s Tomb in the city of Nablus. During the event, heavy fire was shot at the worshippers by Palestinian gunmen,” it said in a statement.
Two pilgrims and a commander of the army’s Shomron Brigade were injured, the statement said.
The tomb, which is believed by some to be the last resting place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, is a flashpoint for violence in the West Bank, and revered as a holy site by some Muslims.
The Israeli army provides security for monthly pilgrimages by Israelis. In May, a 16-year-old Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in clashes at the tomb.
The army said it had arrested 12 people in separate operations across the West Bank on Wednesday night, the latest raids in a crackdown triggered by intensifying violence.
Nineteen people — mostly Israeli civilians inside Israel — have been killed since late March, mainly in attacks by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs.
Israeli security forces have responded with near-daily raids in the West Bank.
Forty-eight Palestinians have been killed, mostly in the West Bank — among them attackers and suspected militants but also non-combatants, including Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli army fire while covering a raid in Jenin, according to the United Nations.
Three Israeli Arab attackers have also been killed since late March.
Three Israelis, 64 Palestinians wounded in West Bank clashes
https://arab.news/6j2td
Three Israelis, 64 Palestinians wounded in West Bank clashes
- Clashes left 64 injured Palestinians, most of them suffering from effects of tear gas inhalation
Safety of Jordanians a priority during regional conflict, says country’s crown prince
- He visits Civil Defense Department and is briefed on the work it is doing to manage emergencies and protect lives and property amid attacks by Iran
LONDON: The safety of citizens is a priority for authorities in Jordan amid regional tensions, the country’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah Al-Hashimi said on Wednesday as he visited the Civil Defense Department for a briefing and iftar event.
He stressed the importance of keeping pace with the latest developments in civil protection systems and taking every opportunity to enhance the skills of Civil Defense personnel, the royal court said.
The department, which operates under the Ministry of Interior, has been working to manage emergencies and protect lives and property amid a barrage of missiles and drones launched by Tehran in recent days in response to attacks on Iran by the US and Israel. The strikes have targeted civilian and military areas in Jordan and other countries in the region.
During his visit the crown prince was greeted by Maj. Gen. Obeidallah Maaytah, director of the Public Security Directorate, and Brig. Gen. Nasser Sweilmeen, the Civil Defense director, and briefed on the work of the Civil Defense Department, the systems it uses, and the ways in which it is responding to the regional conflict.
In addition to firing missiles into Israel, Iran has targeted US forces at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and other American military sites in Gulf countries. Military personnel and civilians in several countries have been killed or injured by missiles or falling debris.
