Palestinian groups down Israeli drone over West Bank

Palestinian fighters said on Sunday that they had downed an Israeli drone over the occupied West Bank town of Jenin.

"We and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (affiliated with the Fatah movement) managed, at dawn today, to shoot down an Israeli drone, and we succeeded in controlling it after targeting it with bullets," the Jenin Brigade – affiliated to the Al-Quds Brigade, the military arm of the Islamic Jihad movement – said in a press statement.

A video shared on social media showed men in Jenin in possession of the alleged Israeli drone.

#عاجل |
إسقاط طائرة مسيرة للاحتلال في جنين بعد استهدافها بإطلاق نار كثيف. pic.twitter.com/Y1Y2knUa1B

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) July 1, 2023

In the West Bank town of Tulkarm, the Tulkarm Brigade – also affiliated to the Al-Quds Brigade – confirmed in a press release that they targeted the nearby Einav settlement with a barrage of bullets yesterday on Saturday, adding that they also targeted a car which settlers were travelling in, reportedly causing injuries.

Israeli settlers on Saturday also attacked Palestinian farmers in the town of Salfit and reportedly beat them. One of the farmers was arrested by Israeli forces without giving a reason.

It comes at a time of surging violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in the past 15 months, including deadly Israeli army raids in towns like Jenin and Nablus and rampages by groups of settlers in Palestinian villages.

For the first time in 20 years, Israel used air raids on Jenin during a military operation last month.

Israel vowed to continue illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank, despite criticism from Western nations, including its main ally the US.

The Palestinian health ministry says more than 180 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the start of this year alone, in both the West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip enclave.