An Israeli army officer and two Palestinian gunmen were killed in a clash overnight in the West Bank amid a surge in violence that’s prompted claims from Israel’s leaders that Palestinian authorities are losing control over the territory.
(Bloomberg) —
An Israeli army officer and two Palestinian gunmen were killed in a clash overnight in the West Bank amid a surge in violence that’s prompted claims from Israel’s leaders that Palestinian authorities are losing control over the territory.
The fighting occurred along the separation barrier constructed by Israel after the Palestinians approached a crossing point and opened fire, according to Israel’s military. It said one of the assailants was a member of the Palestinian security service. There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel has put its forces onto a constant high level alert as it approaches the Jewish holiday season at the end of next week, warning of further attacks.
Violence intermittently flares in Palestinian territories with peace talks with Israel for the creation of a Palestinian state stalled for years. Since the beginning of the year, almost 100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in clashes, some sparked by Israeli security raids.
“The Palestinian Authority no longer has choices it can present to its people,” said Khalil Shaheen, director of research at The Palestine Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies in Ramallah. That’s left “a big vacuum between it and the people amid the deadlock in negotiations,” he said.
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Defense Benny Gantz said last week that Israel, which is heading toward its fifth election in less than four years after a fragile governing coalition collapsed, would increase and reinforce its operations against “terrorists” in the West Bank.
The escalation comes just a month after fighting between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip killed 44 Palestinians and rained almost 1,000 rockets on Israeli towns and cities. The exchanges were ended by Egyptian mediation after three days.
(Updates with more details throughout.)
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