Israeli soldiers fired on a market in the West Bank city of Jenin on Friday noon, killing four people and wounding at least 24 others after Palestinians mistakenly thought a curfew had been lifted, Palestinian witnesses said.
The dead were Ahmed Ghazawi, aged 6, his 12-year-old brother Jamil, a 6-year-old girl, Sajedah Famahwi, and Helal Shetta, 50, the deputy director of the city's department of education, a doctor at a hospital in the city said on condition of anonymity. Hospital sources said that six people were in serious condition.
"People thought the curfew was no longer on. They got hungry and wanted bread, so they went to the market to buy some. The Israelis opened fire," Jenin's acting governor, Haider Irsheid, told Reuters.
Earlier, a total of four Palestinians were reported killed. Palestinians said a 14-year-old boy was killed when the Israeli army blew up a building in Jenin. The Israeli side said the troops had detonated a bomb factory.
Three other Palestinian fatalities were reported in the Gaza Strip, where border policemen shot and killed an assailant who threw grenades at them at the Erez junction, which is at the entrance to the strip. Two Palestinian workers were also killed in that shooting.
Also in Gaza Strip, an Israeli soldier was seriously wounded by an anti-tank RPG (rocket propelled grenade) near the Netzarim settlement. The Associated Press reported that troops opened fire at a group of Palestinian children and an AP reporter and photographer on a Gaza road as soldiers tore down a Palestinian police post. No one was hurt. (Albawaba.com)
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