Israeli occupation soldiers killed three Palestinians Thursday, December 22, in the West Bank city of Nablus, in a new Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people, hours after a Pope representative blamed Israel and the United States of throwing obstacles on the road of peace.
The three Palestinians were killed during an Israeli raid on a house in central Nablus, Reuters reported.
The killing came when Israeli forces surrounded the house, claiming that several “wanted” Palestinian activists were hiding inside.
Local Palestinian sources said one of the victims was Bashar Khanania, a local military commander of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), according to the BBC News Online.
Israeli army has stepped up offensives in the Palestinian cities since a Palestinian attack on December 5, which left five Israelis killed.
On Wednesday, Israeli occupation forces killed a Hamas local leader in the West Bank city of Jenin.
The killings brought the overall death toll since the September 2000 start of Al-Aqsa Intifada to 4,917, mostly Palestinians.
The incessant Israeli aggressions have dimmed hopes for peacemaking that was kindled by Israel’s withdrawal of troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip in September after 38 years of occupation.
Big Prison
“Bethlehem is a big prison which is surrounded by walls,” Sabbah said. (AP)
Thursday’s deaths came only one day after a representative of Pope Benedict XVI blamed incessant Israeli aggressions for causing chaos in the Palestinian territories.
Latin Patriarch for the Holy Land, Michel Sabbah, said that Israel’s military actions were making it harder for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to establish order, Reuters said.
“What makes things difficult for (Abbas) is the continuation of Israeli violence,” told reporters at a briefing held ahead of Christmas celebrations.
Sabbah also reiterated criticism of the barrier Israel is building in the occupied West Bank on claims of keeping out Palestinian attackers.
The barrier now separates occupied Al-Quds (East Jerusalem) from Bethlehem, the town where Christians believe Jesus was born.
“Bethlehem is a big prison which is surrounded by walls. While people enter through a beautiful gate, it is still a big prison and not a normal way of living,” Sabbah said.
“They cannot have a normal economic life, which affects the social life, and people are getting more nervous.”
The Israeli army has claimed it is easing restrictions at Christmas for pilgrims and local Christians and that some 200,000 pilgrims were expected, up from 100,000 last year.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nation’s highest legal body, has ruled that the 700-kilometer (435-mile) barrier violated international law.
Israel, which vowed to ignore the verdict, claims the barrier is essential for security reasons.
Palestinians maintain that the wall is nothing but an Israeli attempt to pre-empt the borders of their future state.
More than 200,000 Palestinians are already suffering the humanitarian consequences of the wall, according to the United Nations.