'Anger and frustrations': Thousands mourn three Palestinians killed in Nablus by Israeli forces

Thousands of Palestinians took part in the funeral for three Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during a military raid in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday.

At noon, crowds of Palestinians marched in Nablus's main square in the city centre, carrying the bodies of 35-year-old Muaath Masri, 35-year-old Hassan Qatanani and 45-year-old Ibrahim Jouri. Mourners raised flags for Palestine and various factions, chanting slogans of support to the resistance and demanding revenge as gunmen fired shots into the air.

Hamas claimed the two slain men, Qatanani and Masri, as its members. Israeli forces accused the two men of being behind a shooting attack in the Jordan Valley in early April, in which two Israeli-British settlers were killed. The third man, Jouri, was accused by Israeli forces of helping Masri and Qatanani to hide.

جانب من تشييع شهداء القسام في نابلس "حسن قطاني، ومعاذ المصري، وإبراهيم جبر" الذين ارتقوا صباح اليوم.
- "وَالَّذينَ قُتِلوا في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ فَلَن يُضِلَّ أَعمالَهُم". pic.twitter.com/vT7Ja8ZCk2

— رَغَد رَضوان.𓂆🇵🇸 (@raghad_barqawi) May 4, 2023

"Occupation special forces snuck into the old town in the morning disguised as civilians, around the time children were on their way to school," Majdi Awartani, a resident of the old town, told The New Arab. "They surrounded a house where apparently the men were hiding, and a gunfight began."

"Soon, hundreds of occupation soldiers entered the old town and joined the fight, isolating the entire area. The gunfight lasted an hour and a half or so, then the occupation forces used missiles and blew up the house, and then they left," Awartani said.

"The soldiers fired large quantities of tear gas and dozens of residents were asphyxiated and needed treatment, while four civilians were wounded with live bullets. The most difficult part of the raid, as in all raids, was to evacuate the wounded and asphyxiated out of the old town," he added. 

Undercover Israeli occupation soldiers raid the Old City in Nablus this morning. There are reports of serious injuries but paramedics have not been allowed access. Students who made it to school at the time of the raid are now trapped in their schools. pic.twitter.com/7hbaIFSHeT

— Nour Odeh 🇵🇸 #NojusticeNopeace (@nour_odeh) May 4, 2023

"I and others evacuated some of the injured in small motor vehicles with mini-cargo beds that can travel in the narrow alleys of the old town, out to the main square where ambulances were stationed, but there were so many of them," Awartani continued. 

"When the three men were pulled out of the rubble, there was an uproar among the people present, as [the killed] were so maimed by the occupation fire that they weren't recognisable," he said. 

Thursday's raid was the largest on Nablus since late February, when Israeli forces killed eleven Palestinians, including a 73-year-old man.

"The occupation forces withdrew through my street on their way out of the old town," Nisreen Ghazal, a resident of Nablus and fast food shop owner near Al-Najah University, told TNA.

Israel besieged and bombed a house in Nablus, using their latest inventions: suicide bombs or flying bombs. Hasan Qatanani, Muath Masri, Ibrahim Jabr were killed. It won't be Israel's weapons but freedom, justice and equality to end the Palestinian struggle. #MilitaryEmbargNow pic.twitter.com/Xck0xM6kAt

— Stop The Wall (@stopthewall) May 4, 2023

"At least 70 armoured military vehicles were crossing in front of my shop, and young men came out and threw stones at them," she said. "The atmosphere was very tense. But people didn't feel fear, rather anger and frustration, because this kind of raid in Nablus has become a habit for the occupation."

"I stood out of my shop and began to film the occupation forces while they withdrew, and others did too, as nobody really cared about the risk anymore," she added.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned the Israeli raid on Nablus on Thursday during a meeting with a European Union representative in Palestine.

Shtayyeh also urged the EU to condemn the Israeli raid, stating that "Israeli crimes against our people barely stop before beginning again, in a more horrifying and murderous manner".

A general strike in Nablus was called by Palestinian factions until Friday, in sign of mourning.

Since the beginning of 2023, Israeli forces have killed 109 Palestinians, including 20 minors, according to the Palestinian health ministry.