Palestinian killed during overnight riots in Jenin
Two Israeli soldiers lightly injured after protests during IDF arrest operation turn unusually violent, army says
Raphael Ahren is a former diplomatic correspondent at The Times of Israel.
A Palestinian was killed early Tuesday during an exchange of fire with Israeli soldiers early Tuesday in the West Bank city of Jenin, the IDF and Palestinian sources said.
Two Israel Defense Force soldiers were lightly injured.
Majed Lahlouh died from a bullet to his heart, Al-Jazeera reported, citing doctors at a Jenin hospital. Media reports gave his age as 19 or 22. An earlier report cited his age as 16.
Military sources were quoted as saying that the Palestinian casualty could have possibly resulted from shrapnel or from wounds inflicted to the lower part of his body.
The IDF detained one Palestinian and opened an investigation, an army spokesperson said.
According to reports, the incident occurred during an operation while the IDF Nahal Haredi unit and the Border Police were looking to detain alleged terrorists, including one specific suspect.
Within a short period of time, hundreds of Palestinian gathered to protest the operation, shooting at the Israeli forces and throwing stones at them. The troops were reportedly instructed to respond by firing at the lower body parts of the rioters.
A number of Palestinians were injured and brought to nearby hospitals. The person the IDF was looking for was apprehended and was being interrogated, military sources said.
“This was a massive disturbance of public order,” a military official told the NRG website. “This is something unusual – we’re familiar with disturbances of the public during arrests. But this was much very different from what we’re used to.”
