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The Palestinian city of Nablus on Thursday mourned a Palestinian youth killed by Israeli forces, as the West Bank city continues to be a flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) said that 20-year-old Khalil Yahya Anis was killed during the exchange surrounding the demolition, while two others were injured, according to the PA’s official WAFA news agency.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) demolished a home in Nablus early Thursday morning. During the operation, assailants fired and threw explosives at the Israeli forces, causing damage to military vehicles and prompting them to return fire, the IDF said on Twitter.
The IDF said the home belonged to Osama Taweel. A member of the Lion’s Den armed group, Taweel allegedly shot and killed Israeli soldier Ido Baruch during a protest by Israeli settlers near the settlement of Shavei Shomron outside of Nablus in October. He was arrested in February, according to Israeli media.
Agence France-Presse reported that a Palestinian security official "confirmed that Anis was a fighter, though the source "did not say with which group he was affiliated," according to the outlet. Another source told AFP that Anis was part of the leading Fatah movement.
Images circulated on Palestinian social media showed Nablus erupting in clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in Nablus early Thursday morning.
جانب من المواجهات العنيفة المندلعة في مدينة نابلس. pic.twitter.com/4OOrI5sWdc
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) June 14, 2023
جانب من المواجهات التي اندلعت مع قوات الاحتلال خلال اقتحامها لتفجير منزل الأسير أسامة الطويل في نابلس، الليلة الماضية. pic.twitter.com/bmtfuAEImh
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) June 15, 2023
The IDF's Central Command also signed an order in mid-May to demolish the home of Abdel Kamel Jouri, Taweel's alleged accomplice in the Shavei Shomron attack. The Times of Israel reported at the time that Jouri's family could appeal the decision. Jouri was also arrested in February, according to Israeli media.
Israel says demolishing assailants' homes is part of a strategy to deter future attacks. The practice has been widely condemned by rights groups.
A funeral was held for Anis later on Thursday, the Hamas-affiliated Safa news outlet reported.
Why it matters: Violence and clashes with Israeli forces escalated in the occupied Palestinian Territories this year, but a particularly high number of incidents have occurred in Nablus. In April, the IDF shot dead two Palestinians in Nablus during a raid in response to an earlier attack on Israeli forces. In May, the IDF killed three Fatah fighters in the city during a raid, according to AFP.
The Lion’s Den group is based in Nablus. The group’s execution of an alleged Israeli collaborator in Nablus in April demonstrated declining trust in the PA, Palestinian journalist Ahmad Melhem wrote for Al-Monitor at the time.
Know more: On Wednesday, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States is “seeking more information” from Israel on the death of US citizen Omar Assad in the West Bank last year. Assad was detained, gagged and left unconscious at a checkpoint.
On Tuesday, the IDF said the involved soldiers showed poor judgment but would be disciplined internally and not face criminal charges, adding that they could not determine whether the soldiers’ actions caused Assad’s death. Miller said the United States would speak “directly” to Israel on the matter, The Associated Press reported.
