BALATA REFUGEE CAMP, WEST BANK – In a tragic incident that adds to the ongoing violence in the region, two Israelis lost their lives in a suspected Palestinian shooting attack at a car wash in the volatile West Bank on Saturday.
The Israeli military swiftly initiated efforts to locate suspects and establish roadblocks in the vicinity of Hawara, a troubled area in the northern West Bank. This region has witnessed multiple shooting incidents and a previous incident where Jewish West Bank settlers went on a rampage, setting fire to Palestinian property.
This recent shooting attack comes shortly after Palestinian official media reported the death of a 19-year-old Palestinian who succumbed to injuries sustained during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank on Wednesday. These casualties are part of a continuous cycle of violence that has exacerbated the most intense conflict between Israel and Palestinians in nearly two decades. According to The Associated Press, nearly 180 Palestinians have lost their lives since the beginning of the year, while Palestinian attacks have claimed the lives of around 29 Israelis.
Upon arriving at the scene, Israeli paramedics discovered two Israeli males, aged 60 and 29, both unconscious with gunshot wounds at the Hawara car wash.
Disturbing videos circulating online showed Israeli soldiers navigating through a pool of blood as they transported the two victims on stretchers to waiting ambulances.
Hawara has been a focal point of violence during this recent conflict, with several Israelis killed in the area. In February, the deaths of two brothers, residents of a nearby settlement, triggered a violent rampage by settlers who set fire to numerous cars and homes in one of the worst instances of settler violence in decades. Similar incidents of settler mob violence have occurred in other parts of the West Bank during this period.
Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, lauded the shooting attack, posting statements online that congratulated the attackers. However, they did not explicitly claim responsibility for the incident.
Regarding the Palestinian who died on Saturday, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that 19-year-old Mohammad Abu Asab was shot in the head during an Israeli army incursion into the Balata refugee camp near Nablus in the northern West Bank on Wednesday. According to medical officials cited by Wafa, Abu Asab was shot during a gunfight that erupted as a commando unit raided Balata in an attempt to dismantle an underground weapons factory.
Abu Asab’s affiliations with any militant group were not immediately confirmed, and no group claimed him as a member.
Israel has been conducting nightly raids since last spring in response to a series of lethal Palestinian attacks. Israel argues that these raids aim to dismantle militant networks and prevent future attacks, while Palestinians view them as a natural response to 56 years of occupation, which includes expanded Israeli settlement construction and increased violence by Jewish settlers. The West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, remains a contested region as Palestinians aspire to establish their independent state there.