Israel Army Raids West Bank Town Tel Aviv Gunmen Hailed From

Israeli troops take position in the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp in the northern West Bank on April 10 JAAFAR ASHTIYEH AFP
Israeli troops take position in the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp in the northern West Bank on April 10 JAAFAR ASHTIYEH AFP
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Israel Army Raids West Bank Town Tel Aviv Gunmen Hailed From

Israeli troops take position in the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp in the northern West Bank on April 10 JAAFAR ASHTIYEH AFP
Israeli troops take position in the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp in the northern West Bank on April 10 JAAFAR ASHTIYEH AFP

Israeli soldiers on Sunday launched a new raid into the flashpoint West Bank district of Jenin, the home of gunmen who launched recent deadly attacks in the Tel Aviv area.

At least 10 people were wounded in clashes in Jenin as well as in Jericho and Tulkarem, the Palestinian health ministry said Sunday, while the Palestinian Prisoners Club announced 24 arrests in various West Bank cities.

"Troops are currently operating in the city of Jenin," in the north of the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army said in a brief message, AFP reported.

The military operation came after a gunman from Jenin went on a shooting rampage in a popular Tel Aviv nightlife area on Thursday evening, killing three Israelis and wounding more than a dozen others.

Israel said Friday it had killed the alleged attacker, Raad Hazem, 28.

A total of 14 people have been killed in four attacks in Israel since March 22, including another shooting spree in Bnei Brak, an Orthodox Jewish city near Tel Aviv.

Some have been carried out by assailants linked to or inspired by ISIS.

Over the same period, at least 10 Palestinians have been killed, including assailants.

"We will do whatever it takes, whatever is necessary, for however long and wherever needed, until both safety and the sense of security are restored," army chief Aviv Kochavi told soldiers in a video released by the military.

The Israeli army and border police had previously raided the Jenin refugee camp on Saturday, killing a 25-year-old Palestinian member of Islamic Jihad, the main Palestinian armed Islamist movement besides Hamas, in heavy gun battles.

Israel has also restricted access to Jenin, closed Israeli crossings and stepped up security checks.

The new operation comes ahead of the funerals of the three Israeli civilians killed in Tel Aviv on Thursday night -- childhood friends Tomer Morad and Eytam Magini, and father-of-three Barak Lufan -- which are expected later on Sunday in the town of Kfar Saba and at the kibbutz of Ginosar.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad welcomed that attack, which was condemned by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

The recent violence has come amid heightened tensions during Ramadan, after violence flared during the Muslim holy month last year leading to 11 days of devastating conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Following Thursday's attack, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gave security agencies "full freedom" to end the deadly violence that has surged since March 22 "in order to defeat terror".

"There are not and will not be limits for this war," Bennett said.



PKK Would Leave Syria if Kurdish Forces Keep Leadership Role, Official Says

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
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PKK Would Leave Syria if Kurdish Forces Keep Leadership Role, Official Says

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

An official with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said on Thursday the militant group would agree to leave northeastern Syria if the US-allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) maintains a significant joint leadership role there.
"Any initiative resulting in the governance of northeastern Syria under the control of the SDF, or in which they have a significant role in joint leadership, will lead us to agree to leave the region," the official at the group's political office in northern Iraq said.
The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Türkiye, the United States and Europe. It has fought a separatist insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
After the ousting of president Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus last month, Ankara has threatened to crush the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which is a part of the SDF that it says is an extension of the PKK.
Ankara has said the SDF must be disbanded and all senior PKK members ousted from Syria or it will strike, prompting negotiations over the future of the SDF, which is the main US ally in the fight against ISIS in northeastern Syria.
Washington has called for a "managed transition" for its Kurdish allies and the SDF commander has said any PKK members would leave Syria if Türkiye agrees a ceasefire.
In a written statement, the PKK official said that if the group leaves Syria it would continue monitoring from afar and will act against Turkish forces or moves as needed.
"The future of Syria will be determined after the 20th of this month, once Trump assumes power," the official said, referring to US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday.