Israeli forces kill two Palestinians as British-Israeli buried

DEIR AL-HATAB, Palestinian territories — Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian fighters on Tuesday in the West Bank, on a day mourners laid to rest a British-Israeli woman who died in an attack that also killed her two daughters.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has surged over the last week, with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Jewish Passover and Christian Easter coinciding.

The Palestinian ministry of health named the two men as Saud Abdullah Saud Titi and Mohammad Abu Dhiraa.

Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, the armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fateh movement, claimed the two men as members.

They were from the nearby Balata refugee camp, a statement from Fateh said.

An AFP photographer saw Israeli soldiers place a body into an ambulance at the site, as other troops inspected a white car riddled by bullets.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in a statement, labelled the killings “abhorrent” and added “the UK condemns this appalling attack on civilians”.

He said Britain urged “all sides to de-escalate tensions in Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories, and end the deadly cycle of violence”.

Ban at Al Aqsa 

The government also said it would ban Jewish visitors from entering Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa compound, starting Wednesday until the end of Ramadan.

The move follows a promise by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to restore security “on all fronts”.

The latest surge in unrest began last Wednesday with an Israeli police raid on Al Aqsa Mosque, followed by rocket fire from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and a car-ramming in Tel Aviv that killed an Italian tourist. 

The body of Alessandro Parini arrived back in Rome on Tuesday, after the 36-year-old was killed when a car ploughed into pedestrians on the city’s seafront Friday evening.

On Monday, Palestinian mourners had gathered near Jericho city for the funeral of a 15-year-old boy, Mohammed Fayez Balhan, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during a raid in the Jordan Valley.

The conflict has this year claimed the lives of at least 96 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian, according to an AFP count based on Israeli and Palestinian official sources.