Two Palestinians Killed in West Bank Clashes

Palestinians sit in a shelter at the rubble of their house destroyed in the three-day Israel-Gaza fighting, in Gaza City, August 14, 2022 - Reuters
Palestinians sit in a shelter at the rubble of their house destroyed in the three-day Israel-Gaza fighting, in Gaza City, August 14, 2022 - Reuters
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Two Palestinians Killed in West Bank Clashes

Palestinians sit in a shelter at the rubble of their house destroyed in the three-day Israel-Gaza fighting, in Gaza City, August 14, 2022 - Reuters
Palestinians sit in a shelter at the rubble of their house destroyed in the three-day Israel-Gaza fighting, in Gaza City, August 14, 2022 - Reuters

Two Palestinians were killed early Thursday in separate clashes with the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement that Samer Khaled, 25, from Al-Ain camp in Nablus, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the neck, and Yazan Afana, 26, from Qalandia camp outside Jerusalem, died after being shot in the heart.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said Khaled was killed when Israel soldiers stormed Balata refugee camp near Nablus, in the northern West Bank.

Afana was killed during an operation in Al-Bireh, near Ramallah, the health ministry said.

A Palestinian official said the death of Afana was linked to fire from Palestinian militants, rather than the Israeli army.

The army said in a statement that its soldiers arrested six wanted men in operations throughout the West Bank overnight.

"During the operation (in Balata), the forces responded by firing after a shot was fired at them," the army statement said, AFP reported.

"There are claims of a dead Palestinian," it added.

The army said that during the operation in Al-Bireh, its forces were attacked with stones and Molotov cocktails and responded using "riot dispersal means".

It added that in this case too it had been informed of the death of a Palestinian.

On Tuesday, four Palestinians and two Israelis were injured in separate incidents near Nablus, the scene of recurrent violence in recent months.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, when it captured the territory from Jordan.



Abbas Denounces Israeli Gaza Offensive at UN, Insists: 'We Will Not Leave'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024.   REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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Abbas Denounces Israeli Gaza Offensive at UN, Insists: 'We Will Not Leave'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024.   REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The head of the Palestinian Authority denounced Israel and its offensive in the Gaza Strip in front of world leaders Thursday, appealing to other nations to stop what he called a “genocidal war” against a place and people he said had been totally destroyed.
Mahmoud Abbas used the rostrum of the UN General Assembly as he typically does — to criticize Israel. But this was the first time he did so since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel that triggered an Israeli military operation that has devastated the Gaza Strip.
Abbas strode to the podium to loud applause and a few unintelligible shouts. His first words were a sentence repeated three times: “We will not leave. We will not leave. We will not leave.”
He accused Israel of destroying Gaza and making it unlivable. And he said that his government should govern post-war Gaza as part of an independent Palestinian state, a vision that Israel’s hardline government rejects.
“Palestine is our homeland. It is the land of our fathers and our grandfathers. It will remain ours. And if anyone were to leave, it would be the occupying usurpers," The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
A nationwide series of campus protests against Israel's operations in Gaza swept the United States in the spring and largely originated at Columbia University, about 70 blocks north of the United Nations.
“The American people are marching in the streets in these demonstrations. We are appreciative of them," Abbas said.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 96,000 others, according to the latest figures released Thursday by the Health Ministry.

Abbas spent big chunks of his speech at the United Nations talking about the state of life in Gaza, and he painted a bleak picture.
"Entire family names have been written out of the civil record," he said. "Gaza is no longer fit for life. Most homes have been destroyed. The same applies for most buildings. ... Roads. Churches. Mosques. Water plants. Electric plants. Sanitation plants. Anyone who has gone to Gaza and known it before would not recognize it anymore.”
Among his demands, none of which are new: A full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip — not “buffer zones.” Allowing Gaza's displaced Palestinians — an estimated 90% of the population — to return to their homes. And a central role for Abbas' government in any future Gaza.
“Stop this crime. Stop it now. Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending weapons to Israel. This madness cannot continue. The entire world is responsible for what is happening to our people in Gaza and the West Bank.”