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Reuters
Reuters
Politics
Ali Sawafta

Israeli forces kill Palestinian militant in West Bank clash

People attend the funeral of Palestinian gunman Ahmed al-Sadi, who was killed by Israeli forces during a raid, in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 9, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian militant in the occupied West Bank on Saturday during a raid in the hometown of a gunman who had carried out a deadly shooting attack in Tel Aviv, Israeli and Palestinian sources said.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions have soared in the run-up to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, with both sides warning against escalation. Deadly incidents have since surged.

SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB Palestinians carry the body of gunman Ahmed al-Sadi, who was killed during clashes with Israeli forces, in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 9, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

The Palestinian Health Ministry said 13 people were wounded in Saturday's exchange of fire in the city of Jenin. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed the man killed as a member of the militant group.

The Israeli military said its soldiers were conducting a counter-terrorism operation in the area and had opened fire at Palestinian gunmen who shot at them.

Residents said the troops had surrounded the home of a man who on Thursday night opened fire in a Tel Aviv bar and killed three Israelis. He was shot dead a few hours later in a firefight with Israeli security forces.

People attend the funeral of Palestinian gunman Ahmed al-Sadi, who was killed by Israeli forces during a raid, in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 9, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Israel's Defence Ministry announced a series of restrictions on the Jenin area on Saturday, prohibiting passage through its main crossing into Israel. Jenin is considered a stronghold of Palestinian militants.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday condemned the Tel Aviv attack.

But he also warned of the dangers of Israeli provocations at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a perennial point of tension, days after a far-right Israeli lawmaker visited the compound, holy to both Muslims and Jews.

Palestinians run near burning tires during clashes with Israeli forces following a raid, in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 9, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Friday's Ramadan prayers ended peacefully despite the tension.

Thursday's shooting brought the number of people killed in a string of Arab and Palestinian attacks in Israel over the past month to 14, the sharpest rise in such violence in years, which Israeli leaders have described as "a new wave of terrorism".

More than 20 Palestinians, many of whom were militants, have been killed by Israeli forces since January and Palestinians in the West Bank have reported a rise in violence by Israeli settlers there.

A relative of a Palestinian killed during clashes with Israeli forces reacts at a hospital, in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 9, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Mike Harrison)

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