Palestinian gunmen fired on PA policemen in a refugee camp outside the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday, in what eyewitnesses described as the heaviest shootout between PA security forces and armed Palestinian groups in recent years.
Unconfirmed reports said there were casualties in the shootout, but it wasn’t immediately clear how many or on which side. The fighting lasted several hours, according to local news.
Palestinian news site Palinfo.com said local police urged Nablus residents to stay off the streets for their own safety.
The gunfight began before sunup, following a multi-day operation in the Balata refugee camp by Palestinian Authority security forces.
The objective of the Palestinian security forces was to restore order to the camp and confiscate weapons. Intelligence received by the PA showed that a large quantity of arms had been gathered in Balata.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
The Balata refugee camp, the most populated in the West Bank according to UNRWA, is known as a hotbed of activity against the Palestinian Authority and the IDF. It has an unemployment rate of 25 percent, according to UN statistics.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
