Outrage, grief grip Palestinians after deadly incident

RAMALLAH/GAZA/JERUSALEM — Outrage and grief prevailed in the Palestinian territories this week after deadly clashes emerged.

At least three Palestinians were killed in a shootout with Israeli troops on Thursday, the latest incident of near-daily bloodshed in the occupied West Bank, The Associated Press reported.

Six Palestinians were killed and 26 others injured during an Israeli raid near the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday. Streets were almost empty and most stores were closed in West Bank cities, as a general strike was staged in response to the call from Palestinian factions to mourn the six Palestinians killed in the Jenin Palestinian refugee camp.

Thousands of Palestinian mourners attended the funeral on Wednesday held for five of the victims in the Jenin refugee camp amid anger and grief. The sixth victim was buried in a cemetery in Nablus city.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli military bombed a military facility that belongs to Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip after a roadside bomb was detonated against an Israeli armored vehicle in the area, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.

The tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been escalating in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the beginning of this year. Official Palestinian and Israeli figures showed that more than 70 Palestinians have been killed this year so far, while at least 14 Israelis have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was forced to change the schedule of a planned visit to Israel due to anti-government protests that are expected to paralyze traffic across the country, US and Israeli officials said on Wednesday.

Austin arrived on Thursday from Egypt for a one-day visit to Israel. But instead of meeting Israeli officials in Jerusalem or at the Defense Ministry in central Tel Aviv, his meetings were expected to be held at a factory near Israel's international airport.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government to overhaul the country's judiciary.

Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the change in location had come at the request of the Israeli Defense Ministry and referred further questions to Israel.