One killed in Palestinian Clashes
Firas Yaeesh, 53, was killed at dawn on Tuesday during clashes between PA security forces and Palestinian fighters.
A Palestinian man has been killed during ongoing clashes between Palestinian fighters and Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Nablus.
Local media identified the man as 53-year-old Firas Yaeesh. His death was announced at dawn on Tuesday.
Witnesses as well as local journalists, have said that Yaeesh was killed by PA police fire, but this has not yet been confirmed.
“Armed men had been shooting at the Nablus police centre, then the police began shooting indiscriminately – a bullet from the police hit him and killed him in front of his home,” Nablus-based journalist Hazem Nasser told Al Jazeera, citing witnesses.
An autopsy will be conducted later on Tuesday.
The spokesperson for the PA’s security services, Talal Dweikat, said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon that the death of citizen Firas Yaeesh came as a result of an injury, the nature of which has not yet been determined, adding that they waiting for reports
Dweikat added that “no security personnel were present” at the scene where Yaeesh was killed, and said “there are testimonies of eyewitnesses who were in the area of the unfortunate accident confirming the authenticity of this story.”
Another Palestinian man Anas Abdelfattah, who is said to be a student at An-Najah National University in Nablus, sustained serious wounds from a bullet to the stomach and is in a critical condition.
Clashes and confrontations unfolded in Nablus shortly after midnight following the PA’s arrest of two Palestinian fighters, including 30-year-old Musab Shtayyeh, who is high on Israel’s wanted list.
Shtayyeh is a commander with the al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of the Gaza-based Hamas’s armed resistance movement.
The other fighter was identified as Ameed Tabileh.
In his statement, Dweikat commented on the arrests and said: “the decision to detain the citizens, Musab Shtayyeh and Ameed Tabileh, came for the security establishment’s own reasons that will be disclosed later.”
He added that the two “will not be exposed to any harm” and that “human rights organizations would be allowed to visit them immediately.”
Ongoing Clashes
Clashes were still ongoing at midday on Tuesday, with live ammunition being fired by both sides.
Young people have also hurled rocks, while PA security forces have launched tear gas at crowds.
Aljazeera /Shakirat Sadiq
