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US Deeply Concerned About Violence in Israel, West Bank

US State Department spokesman Ned Price (File photo: Reuters)
US State Department spokesman Ned Price (File photo: Reuters)
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US Deeply Concerned About Violence in Israel, West Bank

US State Department spokesman Ned Price (File photo: Reuters)
US State Department spokesman Ned Price (File photo: Reuters)

The State Department said Wednesday that the US is highly concerned by the levels of violence in Israel and the West Bank and feared that the impact of the recent Israeli raid in the West Bank could set back efforts to restore calm.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a press briefing that Washington recognizes “the very real security concerns facing Israel. At the same time, we are deeply concerned by a large number of injuries and the loss of civilian lives.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that 11 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others wounded during the Israeli army raid in Nablus in the northern West Bank.

The Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad said Israeli troops had surrounded two of its Nablus commanders in a house, triggering a clash that drew in other gunmen.

Palestinian sources said the two Islamic Jihad commanders were killed along with another gunman. The fatalities included civilians, among them a 72-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 66-year-old man who suffered from gas inhalation during the raid died in hospital later on Wednesday. Medical officials said more than 100 Palestinians were wounded.

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Türkiye Continues Strikes on PKK in Iraq, Syria Despite Ocalan Call 

Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Continues Strikes on PKK in Iraq, Syria Despite Ocalan Call 

Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Türkiye’s armed forces have killed 26 Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria in the week after jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan's disarmament call, the defense ministry said on Thursday.

Ocalan last week called on his outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to lay down its arms and dissolve, and the militant group declared an immediate ceasefire on Saturday.

"The Turkish Armed Forces will continue its operations and search-scanning activities in the region for the survival and security of our country," the defense ministry spokesperson told a weekly press briefing.

"(It) will continue its fight against terrorism with determination and resolve until there is not a single terrorist left," the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson Zeki Akturk said the PKK militants had been "neutralized" in Iraq and Syria, without specifying where the incidents took place. The ministry's use of the term "neutralized" commonly means killed.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Türkiye and its Western allies, said it was ready to convene a congress, as Ocalan urged, but the necessary security conditions should be established for him to "personally direct and run" it.

The Syrian Kurdish YPG, the spearhead of the key US ally against ISIS in Syria that Ankara views as an extension of the PKK, has said Ocalan's message did not apply to them.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Türkiye would continue operations against the PKK if the group's process of disarmament is stalled or promises are not kept.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party spokesman Omer Celik said all Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria, including the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), must lay down their weapons.