Four killed in Israel Jenin  raid — Palestinian ministry

JENIN, Palestinian Territories — An Israeli raid in a West Bank flashpoint killed four Palestinians on Wednesday, including the brother of a man blamed for a deadly attack in Tel Aviv.

The attack was the latest to hit Jenin, in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, an area that has seen near daily attacks by Israeli forces since an escalation which began in March.

Jenin deputy governor Kamal Abu Al Rub told AFP that Wednesday's raid was "the most violent that the occupation army has carried out since the start of the year".

The Palestinian health ministry recorded four dead and 44 wounded by live fire in the latest Israeli operation.

Among them was Abed Hazem, whose brother Raad was named as the killer of three Israelis in a shooting spree in Tel Aviv's busy nightlife district in April.

Raad Hazem was shot dead after a massive Israeli manhunt. Israeli occupation forces have been pursuing Abed and Raad's father Fathi for months.

At a mosque in Jenin refugee camp, hundreds of people prayed for the slain Abed Hazem, whose body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag, with young male mourners kissing his forehead.

The European Union, in a tweet, said it was "alarmed by the spike in violence today in Jenin following the [Israeli] incursions".

Since March, Israel has launched hundreds of operations in the northern West Bank in pursuit of alleged fighters, including in Jenin and nearby Nablus.

Analysts have warned that the dramatic increase in Israeli West Bank raids is further weakening the unpopular Palestinian Authority (PA), with Palestinians increasingly condemning President Mahmoud Abbas’ administration for its security cooperation with Israel.

Following the latest Jenin unrest, Abbas’ spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, accused Israel of “tampering with security and stability through pursuing a policy of escalation”, in a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa.

Israel has demanded that the PA security forces do more to crack down on alleged fighters, and Prime Minister Yair Lapid vowed earlier this month that he would “not hesitate to act in any place that the Palestinian Authority does not maintain order”.