Police commando Sgt. Maj. Noam Raz, 47, who was killed in an operation in Jenin on May 13, 2022 (Police via The Times Of Israel)
On May 13, a service member of Israel’s National Counter Terror Unit “Yamam” died of serious wounds he sustained during fierce clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in the occupied West Bank.
The clashes broke out when a joint force of the Israeli Defense Forces, the Shin Bet security agency and Yamam stormed the town of Burqin near Jenin in order to arrest a number of suspects. The main target of the operation was Mohammad al-Dab’I, a member of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Al-Dab’I was captured but only after fierce clashes that saw Israeli troops firing several rocket-propelled grenades at his house in Burqin. In a statement, the PIJ said that al-Dab’l was wounded during the clashes.
The slain Yamam officer, who was identified as 47-year-old Sgt. Maj. Noam Raz, was fatally wounded during the clashes around al-Dab’I house. Ras was reportedly a 23-year veteran of the Yamam unit who took part in hundreds of security operations.
The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said that 13 Palestinian were wounded, including one critically, in the Jenin clashes.
The clashes in the West Bank coincided with an assault by Israeli security forces on the funeral of Al Jazeera’s journalist Shireen Abu Akle in Jerusalem. Abu Akle was shot and killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank on May 11. Israeli security forces assaulted the mourners, including the coffin bearers, for no reason.
The raids in Jenin and the assault on Abu Akle funeral will likely lead to even more tensions in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israel’s crackdown on Palestinians has reached levels not seen for years. The harsh crackdown will likely lead to more attacks in the West Bank, Jerusalem and inside Israel. Palestinian armed factions may also resume attacks from the Gaza Strip.
