On Wednesday, Israeli special forces assassinated four Palestinian young men, and injured one, after targeting their vehicle in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the slain men as Issam Mohammad Suleiman Salaj, 30, Abdul Halim Mohammad Nasser, 43, Salim Izz al-Din Mahmoud Abu Saada, 40, and Naim Mohammad Raji Abdul Hadi, 32.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said their ambulance crews transported the bodies of the slain men to the Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus, in addition to a young man who sustained injuries to the head and chest as a result of shrapnel from live rounds.
Media sources said that an undercover Israeli unit (Musta’ribeen) infiltrated the eastern area of Nablus city, on Wednesday afternoon, and fired many live rounds at a vehicle, executing all four men inside.
The army sent several military reinforcements to Nablus city from Jerusalem Street, to facilitate the special forces’ withdrawal from Faisal Street.
The Arab 48 News website quoted witnesses who said that “the sounds of heavy gunfire were heard near the eastern market in Nablus, and then soldiers were seen who were apparently riding in a civilian vehicle and wearing civilian clothes, firing at a Palestinian civilian vehicle from all sides.”
It quoted the Islamic Resistance movement Hamas, who called the Israeli assassination operation, a “heinous Zionist crime added to the occupation’s record of terrorism,” affirming that “the resistance in Nablus and all the governorates of the West Bank will remain unbreakable” despite “the brutality of the occupation.”
The Times of Israel reported that Israeli commandos from the “Yamam” counter-terror unit assassinated the so-called “terror suspects,” killing four alleged armed suspects whom they claim were planning an attack.
It added that the long-sought after Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade leader, Issam Mohammad Suleiman Salaj, 30, from the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, was among those killed in the operation.
Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported that the slain men inside the car were high-ranking operatives whom they believed were “involved in carrying out and planning terror operations against civilians and the IDF.”
Since the beginning of the Israeli military onslaught against the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed 749 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 164 children, and injured 6,250.
The distribution of those killed in the West Bank is as follows; 196 in Jenin, 170 in Tulkarem, 79 in Nablus, 74 in Hebron, 59 in Ramallah, 59 in Tubas, 45 in Jerusalem, 29 in Qalqilia, 19 in Bethlehem, 12 in Jericho, 12 inside Israel, and 4 in Salfit.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed 42,010 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, most of whom are women and children, and injured 97,720 citizens, while the bodies of thousands of citizens remain buried under the rubble of the devastated coastal enclave.
