Israeli military shot three fighters from the Palestinian militant group “Islamic Jihad” during an action in the city of Qabatiya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Reuters reported, citing BTA, citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the group.
The military wing of the Iran-backed group “Islamic Jihad” said three of its members were killed in a firefight with Israeli forces that invaded Qabatia near the city of Jenin.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health also announced that two Palestinians were killed by Israeli shelling in Jenin.
At the time of the announcement from the Palestinian side, there was no comment from Israel on either case, Reuters notes.
Violence across the West Bank escalated as the war between Israel and “Hamas” in the Gaza Strip more than 13 months ago. Hundreds of Palestinians, including armed fighters as well as civilians who threw themselves at Israeli soldiers, were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces, according to Reuters.
According to information from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of people killed in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7 last year is at least 787 people, including 167 children. The agency does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its statistics, Reuters notes.
According to Israeli authorities, dozens of Israelis have been killed in Palestinian street attacks over the past year.
In a precedent-setting verdict, an Israeli court ordered the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to pay tens of millions of shekels (1 Israeli shekel = 0.49 leva - note ed.) compensation for the victims of the 2001 suicide bombing and their families, the Israeli news agency TPS reported, quoted by BTA.
The Jerusalem District Court ruling was based on a 2022 Israeli Supreme Court ruling upholding PAV's liability for damage caused by terrorists. The verdict is expected to set a precedent, potentially allowing compensation claims by victims of other attacks, including those of the bloodbath on October 7, 2023.
„The verdict is really correct and important. PAV has been a driving force of terror, certainly since the Intifada. To be held accountable is both an act of justice and deterrence, deterring people from being incited to terrorism, Itamar Markus, founder and director of the Palestinian Media Oversight organization, told TPS. (Palestinian Media Watch).
On August 9, 2001, a Palestinian kamikaze terrorist blew himself up in the crowded restaurant "Sbaro” in the center of Jerusalem. The explosion killed 16 people, including seven children and a pregnant woman. Another 130 people were injured. One of the victims – Hannah Nachenberg, was in a coma for 22 years before passing away in 2023.
According to the verdict, the families of the victims may ask for around 10 million shekels per death case. Since 2018, Israel has withheld funds intended for PAV, diverting them to cover debts and legal compensation. The funds raised are expected to be used for compensation.
PAV sets aside about seven percent of its annual budget for the so-called “Martyrs” Fund, which provides monthly payments. Their amount is mainly determined by the length of the terrorist's prison sentence with a small addition according to the size of his family.
Marcus told TPS that PAV paid out about 1.5 million dollars to eight people connected to the explosion in "Sbaro”.
Ramalla has been making such payments for years, but the issue was brought to attention after the murder of Taylor Force – an American citizen killed by a Palestinian who carried out a cold-armed attack in Jaffa in 2018. Congress passed the Taylor Force Act, which ends US aid to the Palestinians until terrorist financing is stopped.
Israeli officials say the payments fuel terror and regularly divert an equivalent amount of the taxes Israel collects to support the PAF. The new law allows families to collect what was awarded against PAV from the frozen funds.
US aid to the Palestinian Authority was renewed under the administration of President Joe Biden. In December 2022, the American victims of Palestinian terror filed a lawsuit against the president and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, stating that the release of the funds violates the “Taylor Force” law.
Despite claims that it is operating with a 172% budget deficit, in July the PAW admitted 899 new prisoners from the Gaza Strip and tens of thousands of other “martyrs” from the enclave for those eligible to receive funds under the “pay to kill” scheme.
The restaurant attack has become a source of tension between Jordan and the US.
Israel has accused Palestinian-Jordanian Ahlam Tamimi of monitoring the site of the attack, helping to deliver the bomb to Jerusalem and accompanying terrorist Izz ad Din Shuheil al-Masri to the site of the blast. She received 16 life sentences but was released in 2011 as part of the “Gilad Shalit“ (after the Israeli soldier held hostage). Among the victims were American citizens, and Washington is pushing for Tamimi's extradition. She is currently living freely in Jordan and Amman has rejected Washington's extradition requests.