Two Palestinians were killed, the Palestinian health ministry said, and an Israeli officer in a shootout near a checkpoint between Israel and the Palestinian city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
An Israeli army statement said the officer was killed in a shootout when “two suspects” approached the Al-Jalama checkpoint near Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah confirmed the “martyrdom of two young people” during the clashes.
The official Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) said they were two young men, Ahmed Ayman Abed (23) and Abdul Rahman Hani Abed (22), from the village of Kafr Dan, west of Jenin.
A Palestinian security source confirmed to AFP that Ahmed Abed was a Palestinian military intelligence officer in the city of Qalqiliya (north).
The Israeli army announced that the officer killed was Bar Falah (39) from coastal Netanya.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid called Falah “a dedicated soldier who fought against terrorism and led his soldiers until the last hours of his life.”
“The operation in which he was killed prevented a major terrorist attack and saved people’s lives,” the statement said.
Israeli Forces Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi expressed “deep condolences” to the family of the slain officer and his girlfriend.
This is due to the fact that Israel is tightening security measures ahead of a football match in the Champions League, which will be attended by the teams Paris Saint-Germain and Maccabi Haifa.
The two teams played at the Sami Ofer stadium in Haifa, 60 km from Jenin.
The Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces arrested 12 citizens “following raids in several areas in the occupied West Bank.”
He also called a general strike in the city of Jenin, “mourning the two martyrs”.
