Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in the West Bank and the Naqab

Three Palestinians were killed on Tuesday by Israeli forces, two of whom were in the West Bank, while the third was killed in the Naqab desert, south of Israel.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the two Palestinians killed in the West Bank as Nader Rayan, a 17-year-old from the Balatah refugee camp in Nablus, and Alaa Shaham, a 20-year-old from the Qalandia refugee camp located north of Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Israeli media sources reported that the Israeli police admitted to the killing of Sanad Al-Harbeed, a 27-year-old from the city of Rahat in the Naqab, during an undercover raid. The polic reportedly said that their officers started shooting in response to taking fire. Al-Harbeed was a father of three.

Israeli Occupation authorities has killed THREE Palestinians during widespread raids across occupied Palestine.

Haytham Rayyan in Balata refugee camp (17).
Sanad Al-Hirbed in the Naqqab (27).
Mohammad Shahham in Qalandiyah refugee camp.

ZIONIST OCCUPATION IS INDEFENSIBLE. pic.twitter.com/MvQz9k8d7D

— Mohammed El-Kurd (@m7mdkurd) March 15, 2022

Alaa Shaham's father told The New Arab that his son was killed while returning home from his work as a carpenter in Beitunia, near Ramallah.

"I received a call from a resident of the camp who told me that the Israeli army had raided the camp and wounded Alaa, but when I arrived to the health center, he had died," he said.

"Alaa was a hard working young man," his father added. "He came back from the carpentry every day and made sugar-cotton candy at home and sold it to children in the camp. He wasn't involved in any trouble and he told me a few days ago that he wanted to get married."

sorrowful morning for Palestinians, after three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces pic.twitter.com/Met7IcK87y

— Ahmed Shameya (@Ahmedwsh95) March 15, 2022

Hundreds of Palestinians took part in Shaham's funeral in the Qalandia refugee camp on Tuesday, including masked gunmen who fired shots in the air, while other men raised their fists and chanted for revenge

A similar funeral took place in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus for 17-year-old Nader Rayan.

Palestinian media quoted eyewitnesses who said that Rayan was in the midst of opening up his modest coffee-stand when Israeli forces raided the camp, opening fire and wounding him. Rayan was then taken to the Rafidia hospital in Nablus, where he was later pronounced dead.

During the same raid, Israeli forces arrested Ammar Arafat, who was wanted by Israel. Three more Palestinians were wounded in the raid, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

مراسلنا: "جماهير حاشدة تشيع جثمان الشهـــيد علاء حشــام في مخيم قلنديا اليوم وسط مشاركة عدد من المسلحين". pic.twitter.com/pzfwXEycKA

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 15, 2022

In a statement to the press, the Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the killings, labelling them as "war crimes". The ministry accused Israel of "taking advantage of the policy of double standards, knowing in advance the low international reaction to its crimes."

The three killings occur a day after the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh met with the US envoy to the region, Hadi Amr in Ramallah.

The Palestinian state-run agency Wafa reported that Shtayyeh discussed with Amr the rise of "a general sense of anger in Palestine due to the ongoing Israeli aggression, incursions, and settler violence and terrorism."

Fatah gunmen in the Balata camp discharge their firearms during the funeral of Nader Rayan. Rayan and two other Palestinians were killed today by Israeli security forces. pic.twitter.com/As51b4UdIF

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) March 15, 2022

The meeting reportedly also discussed a financial crisis experienced by the Palestinian Authority and calls for more US financial aid to Palestine.

With Tuesday's deaths, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces has increased to nine since the beginning of March, and 20 since the beginning of the year.