A Border Police unit shot dead three Palestinians early Monday morning during an attempt to arrest suspects in the Qalandiya refugee camp in northern Jerusalem. 11 Arabs were lightly injured from gunfire, in addition to the three dead: Robin al-Abd, 28, Jihad al-Aslan, 20, and Jonas Jachjuch, 19. the Palestinian Authority condemned the killing.
The unit of undercover officers from the Judea and Samaria Border Police, entered the Qalandiya refugee camp before dawn Monday, and their activity there generated violent disturbances and severe clashes between locals and members of the police unit. Dozens of young locals came out of their homes and began hurling stones at the unit, until the gravely outnumbered force was forced to resort to live fire.
Police testimony shows that after the undercover unit had been exposed, the open confrontation with dozens of angry locals posed real and present danger to their lives. An initial investigation revealed that the officers used riot dispersal means, including the Roger rifle, which fires ammunition at lower and thus less dangerous speeds. A security official told Walla: “We are familiar with the report about deaths and the issue is under review.”
It appears that, despite calming messages from the IDF about how the rate of violence on the part of Judea and Samaria Arabs is going down, a third Intifada is still brewing. Last week, a Palestinian civilian was shot dead and two others were seriously injured, while two IDF soldiers were lightly injured during an arrest operation in the Jenin refugee camp.
The Haredi IDF battalion Netach Yehuda and Border Police arrived in Jenin to execute arrest warrants against Palestinian residents. The arrest attempt, much like this morning’s scenario, developed into mass disturbances against the two forces, as dozens of Arabs began throwing stones, grenades and improvised explosive devices at the two forces.