10 Palestinians killed in Zionist West Bank raid

Ramallah [Palestine], February 23: Zionist troops killed 10 Palestinians Wednesday in a raid on the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, while more than 80 suffered gunshot wounds, the Palestinian health ministry said. Top Palestinian official Hussein Al Sheikh decried the incursion as a "massacre" and called for "international protection for our people". The death toll is equal to that of a Zionist army raid last month in Jenin, further north, which was the deadliest West Bank operation since at least 2005.
The Palestinian health ministry said those killed "as a result of the occupation's aggression on Nablus" were aged between 16 and 72. A further 82 people were admitted to multiple hospitals with gunshot wounds, Palestinian health officials said. Huge crowds gathered outside Nablus's Rafidia hospital, waiting for news of dozens of casualties being treated at the facility.
The wounded include Palestine TV journalist Mohammed Al-Khatib, who was shot in the hand, his colleague told AFP. The Islamic Jihad militant group said one of its commanders was killed "in a heroic battle against the (Zionist) occupation army and its special forces". The Lions' Den, a local band of fighters, said six of those killed were militants from various factions. Troops withdrew from the city after three hours, an AFP journalist said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics had treated 250 cases of tear gas inhalation and dozens of gunshot wounds. The Arab League said the raid amounted to a "heinous crime". "The occupation authorities and the far-right (Zionist) government are responsible for this horrible massacre," said Saeed Abu Ali, the Arab League's assistant secretary-general for Palestinian affairs.
The latest deadly Zionist incursion follows an appeal by the United Nations Middle East peace envoy, Tor Wennesland, for the violence to be halted as an "urgent priority". "We have seen ominous signs of what awaits if we fail to address the current instability," he told the UN Security Council on Monday.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for an end to Zionist settlements in occupied Palestinian lands. The Zionist entity's rightwing government has in recent weeks faced intense international criticism, including from the United States, over a decision to give retroactive permission to multiple settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and to build new homes.
And on Monday, the UN Security Council's 15 members expressed "dismay" over the plans. "Each new settlement is another roadblock on the path to peace," the UN chief told the body's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. "All settlement activity is illegal under international law. It must stop," Guterres said, adding that "incitement to violence is a dead end. Nothing justifies terrorism. Our immediate priority must be to prevent further escalation, reduce tensions and restore calm," he said. He noted, "the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is at its most combustible in years." - AFP
Source: Kuwait Times