Palestine: A fight between security personnel and civilians at a refugee camp in the West Bank results in one death

Palestinian officials said that fighting broke out at a refugee camp in the northern part of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, leaving a 25-year-old Palestinian dead.

The rioting highlighted the difficulties Palestinian police are having as they attempt to maintain order in the unrest-plagued area.

Authorities said that in another part of the occupied area, Israeli security forces shot a Palestinian man after they claimed he attempted to crash his vehicle into troops at a military checkpoint, lightly injuring one of them.

It was the most recent episode amid one of the most violent periods in recent memory on the West Bank.

According to Palestinian security spokeswoman Talal Dweikat, Palestinian police raided the Tulkarem refugee camp after locals pleaded with the Palestinian Authority to remove metal roadway barricades erected by nearby militants that were obstructing access to houses and schools.

A common sight in the militarized refugee camps in the northern West Bank are the angled metal barriers, which serve as a barrier for Israeli military vehicles during the periodic army operations.

Dweikat said that once police had cleared the streets, Palestinian terrorists started firing in front of the Tulkarem Muqata, the authority’s main building. “To control the security situation,” he said, police were called.

Abdul Latif Quzah, 25, a native of Tulkarem who was not participating in the fighting, was killed in the crossfire, according to a Palestinian security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

He said that Palestinian security forces only used tear gas and stun grenades—not live ammunition—against Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters.

He said that while local militants had refused to allow an autopsy to be performed to ascertain the cause of death, Palestinians were still trying to recover the remains.

Attempts by Palestinian security forces to reassert internal control in flashpoint cities in the northern West Bank under the control of the Palestinian Authority have angered defiant militants, who deride the unpopular authority and its leader, President Mahmoud Abbas, as collaborators with Israel. Semi-autonomous regions in the Israeli-occupied territories are governed by the PA.

Palestinian security forces have come under intense public criticism for their alleged incapacity and despised security alliance with Israel that dates back to the Oslo peace accords three decades ago. Unable to defend Palestinians against escalating attacks by Jewish settlers and frequently lethal Israeli military raids into Palestinian towns and cities, Palestinian security forces have come under intense public criticism.

The situation remained tight as the fighting in the Tulkarem camp waned. Brig. Gen. Azzam Jebara, the chief of the Jenin police, said the organization was deploying more officers to Tulkarem.

The attempted car-ramming incident, according to the Israeli military, happened close to Beit Hagai, a Jewish community in the hills south of the significant Palestinian city of Hebron.

According to the report, the Palestinian motorist was shot by Israeli security personnel as he sped up near the military outpost.

The soldier who had been hit by the automobile was taken to the hospital. Pictures taken at the site showed the air bag of the automobile covered with blood and the driver’s seat glass pierced by bullets.

The condition of the alleged Palestinian attacker was unknown at the time.

According to a count by The Associated Press, since the start of this year, Israeli fire has killed close to 180 Palestinians in the West Bank.

The majority of Palestinians murdered, according to Israel, were militants. However, adolescents who threw stones in protest at the intrusions as well as individuals who weren’t participating in the altercations also perished.

During that period, Palestinian assaults against Israelis have claimed the lives of almost 30 individuals.

According to Israel, the operations are intended to destroy extremist networks and prevent such assaults. According to the Palestinians, the raids weaken their security forces, encourage increased militancy, and solidify Israeli rule over the territory they desire for a future state they hope to establish.

The West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip were all taken by Israel during the Middle East conflict of 1967.