Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank kills a Palestinian man

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during a raid in the Nour Shams refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Palestinian health officials said, the latest deadly shooting in a recent wave of Israel violence that has surged to levels unseen in the occupied territories in some two decades.

The Israeli military claimed the incursion was necessary to destroy an explosives stockpile in the  refugee camp, but this could not be verified. 

The Palestinian health ministry said that a 21-year-old man died from a bullet wound to the head after Israeli forces opened fire on crowds resisting the storming of the camp. 

A video of the incident released by the Israeli military appeared to show a massive fireball erupting from a building. Another unconfirmed amateur video appeared to show an explosion beneath an Israeli military bulldozer.

Videos also purported to show signs of excessive destruction inflicted on the camp by Israeli forces, with buildings left severely damaged and roads destroyed.

Watch|| Massive destruction left behind Israeli occupation forces in the streets and the infrastructure, in addition to many other commercial facilities and buildings during the incursion into Nour Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarm at dawn today.#Pestine pic.twitter.com/kFynh2MPfI

— Days of Palestine (@DayPal_official) September 5, 2023

Israel has pressed on with near-daily deadly raids in the West Bank, which have led to fatalities and serious injuries among Palestinians.

The raids, which were stepped up early last year, have fueled tensions in the region and have ushered in some of the worst violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since that which preceded and followed the last Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel raids in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Jenin, which was also raided by Israeli forces the previous day, has seen the killing of at least 70 Palestinians alone since the beginning of 2023. 

Palestinians say the raids undermine their security forces and entrench violent Israeli control over land which Israel has occupied illegally since 1967 and which Palestinians want to establish an independent state in.

The raids have coincided with the expansion of illegal settlements by the far-right coalition government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.