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Israeli troops strapped a man on to a military vehicle as a “human shield” during a raid on Tulkarm refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian state news agency Wafa reported on Wednesday.
The incident occurred when troops returned to the camp on Tuesday night after withdrawing from the camp earlier in the day following a 15-hour raid in which five people were killed, Wafa said.
The returning forces “arrested a number of young men” from a house, including “wounded people”, the report said. Blood and bullets were found in the home in the aftermath, Wafa reported.
“Occupation soldiers used one of the detainees as a human shield after placing him on the front of a military vehicle,” the report said.
A similar incident occurred last month during an Israeli raid in the northern West Bank town of Jenin. The Israeli military said it was “in violation of orders and standard operating procedures”.
The National has asked the Israeli army for a comment on the incident in Tulkarm.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the earlier raid on the camp rose to six on Wednesday morning.
Medical sources at Al Israa Specialised Hospital told Wafa that Yazan Mahmoud Abdo died from his injuries after being shot in the chest by Israeli forces.
Five people including a woman and her daughter were killed in an Israeli drone strike on Al Hamam neighbourhood of the camp on Tuesday.
Two people were killed in Israeli raids on Tubas and Qalandiya on Wednesday, Wafa reported.
In the Qalandiya refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, “20 Israeli army vehicles, a bulldozer and around 100 infantry soldiers” stormed the area and surrounded a house, according to local sources.
A child was injured in the thigh by live bullets and a man was run over by a military vehicle after fighting broke out between armed men and Israeli forces, Wafa said.
Ceasefire talks
Israel has stepped raids in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza last October.
The latest raids come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address both houses of Congress in Washington, where thousands of protesters gathered outside his hotel and House of Representatives offices to demonstrate against the war and US support for Israel.
Meanwhile, a source familiar with the negotiations told The National that delegations from Egypt, Qatar, the US, and Israel are expected to meet in Doha on Thursday to resume ceasefire talks and a hostage deal in Gaza.
“The meetings are expected to include Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the head of Egyptian intelligence, his American counterpart, and the head of the Israeli Mossad,” added the source.
“The talks will focus on bridging the gap between the parties to announce a ceasefire and a phased exchange of prisoners.”
