BICOM

A violent incident took place yesterday morning in Kalandiya, which straddles the border between the West Bank and East Jerusalem, resulting in the deaths of three Palestinians after Israeli forces came under attack.

At approximately 5.00 am, an elite Israeli border police unit entered Kalandiya in order to arrest an individual described by the IDF as a senior terrorist figure. The suspect fled the scene as troops arrived and the resulting chase lasted for about an hour. In the interim period, an estimated five hundred Palestinians gathered and then hurled firebombs, concrete slabs and items including washing machines from rooftops at Israeli security forces. The Jerusalem Post says that Israeli military vehicles were also hit by gunfire. When non-lethal crowd control methods failed, IDF forces opened fire, resulting in the deaths of Jihad Aslan, Yunis Jahjuh and Rubin Zayed.

The deaths were described by Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah as a “crime” and he called for “urgent and effective international protection for our people.” However, IDF spokesman Peter Lerner described the incident as a “large riot” and explained that “Live fire was used only after soldiers felt their self defence required it.”

Anonymous Palestinian officials later claimed that peace talks between Israeli and PA officials scheduled for later in the day in Jericho had been cancelled in protest at the killings. However, US State Department spokeswoman Mari Harf told Reuters “I can assure you that no meetings have been cancelled… The parties are engaged in serious and sustained negotiations.” Meanwhile, Channel Two reported that Israel’s Justice Minister Tzipi Livni met yesterday morning with senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat prior to the violence unfolding in Kalandiya. The report described the talks as “serious” and claimed that Israel raised the possibility of discussions over both land swaps and the Jordan Valley. Meanwhile, Xinhua news agency claims that Livni and Erekat met last night.