With 27 Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces IOF and settlers, March 2023 has seen a significant rise in Israeli violence against the Palestinian people.
According to data collected by Days of Palestine DOP, Israeli occupation forces and settlers murdered 27 Palestinians, including four children in March, mostly in the West Bank.
On the 1st of March, Israeli occupation forces invaded the Aqabet Jaber refugee camp in occupied Jericho and shot dead Mahmoud Hamdan, 22.
On the following day, Israeli occupation forces shot dead the Palestinian child Mohammed Salim, 15, in occupied Qalqilia.
The Palestinian ministry of health said that IOF opened fire at three Palestinian children at Azoun’s entrance, killing Salim and injuring two others.
Deadly Raids
Since the start of 2023, IOF have escalated deadly raids in the occupied West Bank, in Jenin and Nablus in particular.
On March 7, Israeli troops invaded Jenin, murdered six Palestinian youths, mostly in their twenties, and critically injured another child.
Two days later, 15-year-old Waleed Nassar succumbed to serious wounds he sustained by Israeli gunfire during the same raid in Nablus.
In addition, three Palestinians were killed in occupied Jenin by Israeli forces on March 9. The IOF infiltrated into Jenin and opened fire on a car carrying three Palestinians.
The crime resulted in the killing of the Palestinian youths Nayef Malaysha, Ahmed Fashafsha, and Sofian Al-Fakhouri.
Palestinians Fight Back
Several hours following the Israeli barbaric raid in Jenin, the Palestinian youth Moataz Khawaja carried out a shooting attack against Israeli settlers.
Khawaja, 23, a Ramallah resident, had been held in Israeli prisons for four years. His family indicated that Israeli forces kidnapped him when he was only 17.
Khawaja’s shooting attack resulted in the injury of five Israeli settlers, including three in serious conditions, before he was killed.
His attack, which came following a series of Israeli crimes, was welcomed by the Palestinian people who considered it a normal response to Israeli ongoing crimes.
Ongoing Violence
Until March 10, IOF and Israeli settlers had shed blood and killed 17 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to DOP’s data.
An Israeli settler opened fire and murdered the Palestinian youth Abdelkarim Al-Sheikh in occupied Qalqilia.
During the same day, IOF’s gunfire murdered the Palestinian child Amir Odeh, 14, in Qalqilia too. Medical sources mentioned that Odeh was shot in the chest.
On March 12, another Israeli raid in Nablus claimed the lives of three Palestinian freedom fighters: Jihad Al-Shami, Odai Al-Shami, and Mohammed Dbeik.
Furthermore, a special force of IOF carried out a barbaric raid on Jenin on March 17. It ended up with four Palestinians, including a child, killed by Israeli bullets.
Israeli troops also killed four other Palestinians in different incidents in Ramallah, Nablus, and Galiliee: Yazan Khseib, Ameer Abu Khadija, Omair Lolah, and Omar Sawaed.
The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers so far in 2023 has reached 91, including about 16 children.
