The State Department said Wednesday that the US is highly concerned by the levels of violence in Israel and the West Bank and feared that the impact of the recent Israeli raid in the West Bank could set back efforts to restore calm.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a press briefing that Washington recognizes “the very real security concerns facing Israel. At the same time, we are deeply concerned by a large number of injuries and the loss of civilian lives.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that 11 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others wounded during the Israeli army raid in Nablus in the northern West Bank.
The Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad said Israeli troops had surrounded two of its Nablus commanders in a house, triggering a clash that drew in other gunmen.
Palestinian sources said the two Islamic Jihad commanders were killed along with another gunman. The fatalities included civilians, among them a 72-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 66-year-old man who suffered from gas inhalation during the raid died in hospital later on Wednesday. Medical officials said more than 100 Palestinians were wounded.
