At least seven Palestinians killed, one of them a militant, in an Israeli operation in the West Bank

September 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –

At least seven Palestinians were killed and eleven others wounded on Thursday during a series of Israeli army operations in the West Bank town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, which also resulted in a dozen arrests.

Among the dead is a local leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the splinter armed wing of the main Palestinian Authority party, Al Fatah, who has been identified as ‘Shadi Zakarné’, according to the Palestinian daily ‘Filastín’.

The other deceased have been identified as Muhamad Khaled Abu al Rab, Omar Hamza Abu al Rab, Ahmed Maher Zakarne, Mustafa Faisal Zakarne, Yawdat Hanayshé and Muhamad Omar Kamil.

A series of unverified videos posted on social media show Israeli soldiers throwing the bodies of three of the deceased from the roof of a building, which were then picked up by a bulldozer and transported to Israeli custody.

The Israeli army has issued a statement on the incident, announcing an investigation, saying it is “not in line with the values” of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and what is “expected” of them, The Times of Israel reported.

The IDF also issued a statement detailing the operation in the aforementioned city, where it acknowledged the “elimination of four terrorists” during a shootout and without causing any casualties on the Israeli side, in addition to acknowledging some 25 arrests and the attack of a drone against a vehicle carrying “terrorists.”

Palestinian authorities have estimated the death toll since October 7 – the date of the attacks carried out on October 7, 2023 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other Palestinian factions – at more than 700 in operations by Israeli forces and attacks by settlers.

Israel also launched a military offensive against the Gaza Strip following the attacks, which left some 1,200 dead and nearly 250 kidnapped, according to official figures. The Gazan authorities, controlled by Hamas, have so far reported more than 41,250 dead and nearly 95,500 wounded.