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IDF troops kill unarmed teen in Jenin arrest raid
By Amos Harel and Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondents, and The Associated Press
Israel Defense Forces troops killed an unarmed Palestinian teenager and wounded seven Palestinians, one seriously, during a gun battle in the West Bank city of Jenin on Wednesday, Palestinian sources said. The troops entered the city to arrest a senior Islamic Jihad official.
Most of the Palestinian casualties were armed wanted suspects, the IDF said. The dead Palestinian was identified as Yusuf El-Hasif, 17, according to Palestinian sources. He was among several youths throwing stones at soldiers, The Associated Press reported.
Two IDF soldiers were lightly hurt during the gun battle, which erupted after security forces surrounded the house in which the Jihad official, Hamza Kakur, was located. They were taken to Haemek Hospital in Afula for treatment.
After the exchange of fire, Kakur surrendered to the IDF. Kakur, 26, is considered a key Islamic Jihad official in Jenin and one of the movement members who maintains contact with movement headquarters in Syria.
IDF troops have been operating in the Jenin area for more than a week, with a focus on the Islamic Jihad network in the region. Ibrahim Abhara, a wanted Jihad official who headed the movement’s activities in the villages, was killed last week. Security forces are still searching for another wanted Jihad official, Iyad Abu-Rob.
Earlier Wednesday, IDF troops discovered a 15-kilogram explosive device near the West Bank city of Nablus and detonated it in a controlled explosion.
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians fired at an IDF base near the southern Gaza settlement of Gadid. There were several other shooting incidents, but no injuries.