Soldiers assassinate two Palestinians in Nablus

By Ameen Abu Wardeh

Jenin, 2008 June 24, IMEMC

Palestinian sources in Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank reported on Tuesday that Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians from Jenin, also in the northern part of the West Bank.

Monday night after midnight, Israeli troops surrounded the house where the two reside in Al-Makhfiyeh neighborhood in Nablus and opened heavy fire at their flat killing the two residents and causing excessive damage before kidnapping five civilians, eyewitnesses reported.  

Palestinian civil defense who found the bodies under the rubble, identified the two as, Eyad Khanfar, 24 a student at An-Najah University, and Tareq Abu Ghali, 25 an operative of the Islamic Jihad in Jenin.

Dr. Ghassan Hamdan, head of the Medical Relief Services in Nablus said that the two were shot many times in their bodies and some of the bullets penetrated their heads vertically.

The soldiers also detained five residents of the neighboring building who were terrified by the explosions and the shooting. 

Eyewitnesses confirmed that no exchange of fire took place and that the two were killed although they were unarmed. Medical sources said troops did not allow ambulances to enter the area for five hours.