Israeli army kills two Palestinians in West Bank, detonates house of Tel Aviv attacker

Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, in the village of Yaabad near Jenin, and in the refugee camp of Dheisheh in Bethlehem.

In Yaabad, Israeli forces killed 26-year-old Bilal Qabha during confrontations that erupted as Israeli forces raided the village late on Wednesday.

BREAKING: 24-year-old Palestinian youth Bilal Qabha was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces during a military raid into Ya'bad town in Jenin. pic.twitter.com/c4hBtFpYvA

— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) June 1, 2022

"Some thirty Israeli armoured vehicles raided Yaabad to destroy the house of Diaa Hamarsheh," Amjad Atatrah, the mayor of Yaabad announced late on Wednesday through the Yaabad municipality's Facebook page.

After several hours of violent confrontations with local residents, Israeli forces detonated the house of Diaa Hamarsheh, the 27-year-old Palestinian who killed five Israelis in Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, earlier in March. The house was home to at least seven people, including Hamarsheh's parents and four children.

The moment when the Israeli occupation forces completely destroyed Diaa Hamarsheh's house in Ya'bad town, occupied west Bank. pic.twitter.com/EAIzctgoG7

— V PALESTINE 🇵🇸 (@V_Palestine20) June 2, 2022

The Palestinian health ministry announced Qabha's death and that three Palestinians were seriously wounded in Yaabad.

"Bilal was a calm, quiet person, only focused on his work," Mohammad Qabha, his cousin, told The New Arab. "He was from a working family, and he has been working in construction himself since he was a teenager, both in the West Bank and in Israel." 

"His main concerns were work and helping sustain his elderly parents, but he hoped to save some money and marry," Qabha added.

Today at dawn, the Israeli forces blew up the family home of martyr Diaa Hamarsheh

This is part of the Israeli notorious collective punishment policy applied to deter Palestinians from their activism against the #IsraeliOccupation, but they will never succeed#FreePalestine 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/e7XUtD9Zt9

— Friends of Palestine 🇵🇸 (@PalFriends2020) June 2, 2022

In the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, Israeli forces killed 29-year-old Ayman Muheisen, during a military incursion to the camp.

"The occupation forces raided the camp before dawn to arrest someone and the youth confronted them with stones," Hamza Dahash, a local resident of Dheisheh, told The New Arab.

"Israeli soldiers withdrew through the street I live in, deep inside the camp, when Ayman, my next-door neighbour, came outside like many others," described Dahash. "That’s when one of the withdrawing soldiers shot Ayman and killed him in front of his house."

The Israeli occupation forces shot dead a Palestinian young man during a military raid in the Dheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem city.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/wuaQ1L2gJT

— EYE ON PALESTINE (@Palestinell) June 2, 2022

"Ayman was a father of three and used to work in a bakery until a few months ago when he had to quit his job because of health problems," said Dahash. "He was nice to everyone, always ready to help, and had many friends, which is why all the camp’s residents felt his loss." 

Israeli media quoted a statement by the Israeli army saying that Palestinians had thrown stones, burning tires, explosives and Molotov cocktails at its soldiers in Yaabad, and Dheisheh.

29-year-old Palestinian youth Ayman Muhaisin was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces during a military raid into Dheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, today morning. pic.twitter.com/dxKCr0IGGD

— PALESTINE SUNBIRD 🇵🇸 (@SBPal_Eng) June 2, 2022

Palestinian Prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned the killings of Qabha and Muheisen, calling the international ccommunity to impose sanctions on Israel.

"This is a systematic killing process carried out by the occupation soldiers by a delegation from [Israeli Prime Minister Neftali] Bennet, who has offered the blood of our people to [Israeli] extremists to save his fragile government," said Shtayyeh.

A general strike was called in Bethlehem by local associations on Thursday, in mourning of Ayman Muheisen. A similar strike was called in Jenin by local associations and Jenin’s commerce chamber, in mourning of Bilal Qabha.

In the span of just 24 hours, israel has murdered another journalist Ghufran Warasneh, raided the town of Ya’bad shooting and killing Bilal Kabha and injuring 6 other Palestinians and stormed the home of the martyr Diaa Hamarsheh in preparation to demolish it tonight.

— 🍊 #SaveMasaferYatta #FreeAhmadManasra (@neeemmzz) June 2, 2022

Qabha and Muheisen are the second and third Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank in the last 24 hours.

Early on Wednesday, Israeli forces killed 31-year-old Palestinian journalist Ghufran Warasneh at the entrance of Al-Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, while she was on her way to her first day of work on local radio.

In Gaza, a fourth Palestinian, 41-year-old Yasser Al-Masri died on Wednesday of wounds caused by the Israeli bombing last year.

According to a Palestinian health ministry report released on Thursday, Israel has killed 62 Palestinians since the beginning of 2022.