Israeli forces wound four Palestinians, prepares house for demolition in Jericho

Israeli forces wounded four Palestinians in another raid on the refugee camp of Aqbat Jabr in the occupied West Bank city of Jericho, before dawn on Monday.

During the raid, Israeli soldiers prepared measures to demolish the home of Maher Shloun, the 45-year-old Palestinian whom Israeli forces accuse of being the shooter who killed an Israeli settler near Jericho last week.

"Occupation forces began raiding Aqbat Jabr around 12:30 am and headed to the house of Maher Shloun," Omar Abu Awad, a resident of Jericho, said to The New Arab.

"Young men of the camp confronted the occupation forces with stones and Molotov cocktails, and confrontations lasted until the end of the raid around 4:00 am," said Abu Awad.

"Four residents were wounded with live fire and others were injured with rubber bullets or asphyxiated by tear gas," he detailed. "All the wounded were taken to the hospital and their condition is stable."

شبان يرشقون آليات الاحتلال بالحجارة والزجاجات الحارقة خلال انسحابها من مخيم عقبة جبر. pic.twitter.com/icaQhExIdj

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) March 6, 2023

Maher Shloun was arrested last Wednesday along with four family members, all of whom except Maher Shloun were released later.

"Occupation forces took the measures of Maher's apartment, which is part of a larger building that includes the apartments of his three brothers," noted Abu Awad.

"Maher's apartment, threatened with demolition, is home to his wife and four children, but the entire building will be affected and probably uninhabitable, because of the fragility of structures in the refugee camp," he added.

In 2019 alone, 10 Palestinian houses were punitively demolished, displacing 22 individuals. Since the start of 2020, 15 Palestinians have been displaced as a result of 4 punitive house demolitions. One of the families underwent two punitive demolitions. #StopCollectivePunishment! pic.twitter.com/GDmFwZ4zGf

— Al-Haq الحق (@alhaq_org) July 20, 2020

Israeli forces systematically demolish or detonate the houses of Palestinians whom they accuse of deadly attacks against Israelis, exposing their families to the loss of their homes. Human rights groups have repeatedly considered this policy a form of collective punishment and a war crime.

The refugee camp of Aqbat Jabr has been the target of Israeli raids in recent weeks, including a raid in early February, where Israeli forces killed five Palestinians, two of whom were claimed by Hamas as its members.