TULKAREM: Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian in a raid on a West Bank refugee camp, the Palestinian health ministry said on Tuesday, as violence in the occupied territory shows no letup.

The ministry said 21-year-old Ayed Samih Khaled was “shot by live occupation (Israeli) bullets fired to the head” in the Nur Shams camp near the northern town of Tulkarem.

The Islamic Jihad group identified him as a member, the Al Quds Brigade.

The Israeli military said “an exchange of fire with a number of suspects took place” during the raid.

“The army had come with bulldozers to destroy some roads inside the camp,” the resident said.

Ban on exports

Palestinians demanded on Tuesday that Israel lift a ban on exports from the Gaza Strip imposed over what Israel called an attempt to smuggle explosives, saying it would hit thousands of families and ruin precarious livelihoods in the blockaded enclave.

Israel said on Monday it was temporarily stopping commercial goods from leaving Gaza after inspectors found several kilograms of “high-quality explosives” in a shipment, hidden in the lining of clothes.

At the beachfront Al-Bahar (The Sailor) restaurant and fish farm, owner Mohammad Al-Hajj said he used to export 20 tonnes of fish per week to Israel and the West Bank.

“The fish in fridges will decay if we can’t export it, and we will be forced to sell the fish of the farm at the lowest prices,” said Hajj, saying the jobs of 200 workers at his business were at risk unless the ban is lifted.

In Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian economy minister Khaled Assaili demanded Israel cancel the ban which stops Gaza exports to Israel and the West Bank.

Osama Nofal, an official in Gaza’s economy ministry, said the border closure would have wider effects beyond the immediate freeze on exports.

“The decision will impact industrial installations, close them, and may lay off many workers and increase unemployment. Such a decision is purely catastrophic,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2023