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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Oman denounces Israeli assault on Palestinians

Relatives mourn during the funeral of Palestinians killed during an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp. — AFP
Relatives mourn during the funeral of Palestinians killed during an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp. — AFP
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MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman has expressed its condemnation and denunciation of Israeli occupation forces’ continuous aggression against Palestinian cities and towns -- the last of which was the brutal assault on the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank. The assault caused the death of innocent, unarmed Palestinians.


Oman urged the international community to shoulder its responsibilities by stopping such escalation and backing the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, namely ending the Israeli occupation and establishing comprehensive, fair and lasting peace.


9 KILLED IN RAID


Israeli forces raided West Bank and killed nine Palestinians on Thursday, said officials in the occupied territory.


The Palestinian health ministry accused Israeli forces of deliberately firing tear gas inside a hospital's paediatric ward, leaving children choking -- a claim denied by an army spokesman who added that gas may have drifted into the clinic through a window.


The bloodiest day in the West Bank in years erupted during a raid on the crowded refugee camp in the northern city of Jenin, where gunshots rang through the streets and smoke billowed from burning street barricades.


The Palestinian health ministry said the death toll from the clashes rose to "nine martyrs" including a woman, and that 20 people were wounded before the Israeli forces withdrew mid-morning.


Since its records began in 2005, the United Nations has never recorded such a high death toll in a single operation in the West Bank.


Palestinian Health Minister Mai al Kaila charged that "occupation forces stormed Jenin Government Hospital and intentionally fired tear gas canisters at the paediatric department in the hospital".


The health minister described the situation in the crowded refugee camp as "critical" and said Israeli forces were for some time preventing ambulances from reaching the wounded.


Jenin deputy governor Kamal Abu al Rub told reporters that residents were living in a "real state of war" and charged that "the Israeli army is destroying everything and shooting at everything that moves".


Jenin resident Umm Youssef al Sawalmi said homes were hit during the raid. "Windows, doors, walls and even the refrigerator, everything was damaged by the bullets" fired by Israeli forces, she said.


The Arab League held "the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu fully responsible for committing the horrific bloody massacre" and called for international action.


The mounting toll follows the deadliest year in the Palestinian territory recorded by the UN.


At least 26 Israelis and 200 Palestinians were killed across Israel and the Palestinian territories in 2022, the majority in the West Bank. UN peace envoy Tor Wennesland said he was "deeply alarmed and saddened by the continuing cycle of violence in the occupied West Bank".


"The deaths today of nine Palestinians during an Israeli arrest operation in Jenin is another stark example," he said.


The Palestinian health minister called for an urgent meeting with the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross over the events in Jenin.


Thousands flocked to funerals in Jenin, as the Palestinian presidency announced three days of official mourning. It charged that Thursday's raid on Jenin was happening "under international silence".


"This is what encourages the occupation government to commit massacres against our people in full view of the world," said Nabil Abu Rudeinah, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. – ONA/Agencies


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