Three people have been killed in a drone attack on a "terrorist cell" in Jenin on the West Bank, according to Israel's military (IDF). According to the military, all the deceased belong to Hamas, including one who is said to be a local leader of the Islamist movement.
However, this is denied by the family of 31-year-old Wesam Khazem in Norway, writes newspaper VG. The family in Skien in southern Norway was reached by the news of the death through acquaintances who saw the son's name and picture in news broadcasts.
My son was no terrorist. He was an ordinary person who worked for a construction company. He tried to get his wife to Norway but was rejected three times. Therefore, he moved back to the West Bank, says father Ayman Zeidan Khazem to VG.
According to the newspaper's information, he lived on the West Bank with his wife and two daughters.
Money and weapons
According to Israel, he had both carried out and coordinated shootings and bombings against Israelis. Khazem was shot dead in his car, according to the military. Weapons, money, and explosives were found in the car, according to pictures released by IDF.
VG has contacted Israel's military and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to clarify the matter.
Israel's military launched the ongoing military operation on the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, with the stated aim of combating Hamas and the Islamic Jihad's local branches. Since then, 19 Palestinians are said to have been killed, a figure confirmed by both sides in the conflict.
On Friday, an AFP journalist on the spot heard loud explosions from a refugee camp in Jenin, at the same time as thick smoke was seen rising towards the sky.
UN warns
The operation is the largest on the West Bank in a long time, said Anders Persson, a political scientist at Linnaeus University and expert on the Israel-Palestine conflict, to TT on Thursday.
The death toll is rising and we see Israel using more powerful weapons than before, he said.
The UN warns that the raids on the West Bank are fueling an already explosive situation and is pressing Israel to end its military operation. According to sources, the operation will continue for several more days.
According to the Palestinian Health Department, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed on the West Bank since the war between Israel and the terrorist-listed Hamas broke out in October last year.
Named after its location west of the Jordan River. Has an area of 5,860 square kilometers - equivalent to about three Lake Vättern. The West Bank is thus 16 times larger than the Gaza Strip.
Approximately three million Palestinians live on the West Bank, but also several hundred thousand Israeli settlers.
The 1990s Oslo Accords divide the West Bank into three areas: A, B, and C. In A and B, which together make up about 40 percent of the area, the Palestinians have some self-determination. In C, Israel has control.
According to the Oslo Accords, the Palestinians were to gradually gain more power and control, even in area C. But that has not happened, and instead, Israel has expanded its domains, built new settlements, roads, and barriers.
Israel's grip on the West Bank began with the occupation of the area during the Six-Day War in 1967. Since then, it has been under military occupation pending a final peace agreement. But there are also strong right-wing forces in Israel who believe that the country has a right to large parts of or the entire West Bank.
The Palestinian self-government on the West Bank is led by the secular party Fatah.
