The Hamas resistance movement has strongly condemned the Israeli military over fatally shooting a Palestinian man in the occupied northern West Bank city of Jenin, stressing that assassinations, raids and abductions will never manage to break the Palestinian nation’s will or undermine their steadfastness.
The Gaza-based group, in a statement released on Friday, mourned the martyrdom of 58-year-old Fathi Khazem, who died from injuries sustained after being shot by Israeli forces early Friday, stating that Palestinians’ choice to resist the Israeli occupation will remain firm and unflinching.
Hamas noted that the targeting of Khazem falls within the framework of Israel’s ongoing atrocities against the Palestinian people, emphasizing that the policy of raids, assassinations, and abductions will not stop the path of resistance or weaken Palestinians’ attachment to their land and inalienable rights.
The resistance movement called upon Palestinians, especially the younger generation in the West Bank, to maintain their resistance against Israeli occupation and to confront Israeli troops and illegal settlers, saying this comes in defense of Palestinian land, sacred sites, and rights.
For its part, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement denounced the Israeli military’s raid in Jenin and the assassination of Hazem before his family as a “cold-blooded execution” driven by a policy of vengeance.
The group underscored that the horrendous crime will not go unanswered, stressing that the killings of iconic figures will fail to intimidate Palestinian people or weaken their resolve to defend their land and holy sites.
Local sources said an Israeli special forces unit stormed Khazem’s home in the early morning, amid a heavy military presence and intense gunfire. Israeli reinforcements later arrived in the area.
The sources said soldiers entered the house with gunfire heard from inside. Bloodstains were visible throughout, including the stairs, and Khazem was shot inside his home.
Palestinian ambulances tried to reach the house but were blocked during the operation, according to local sources.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that Israeli forces took Khazem’s body as they withdrew.
Khazem was reportedly a retired colonel in the Palestinian National Security Forces.
His son, Raad Khazem, carried out a retaliatory shooting operation in Tel Aviv in April 2022. Three illegal settlers were killed and several others wounded as a result. Israeli authorities demanded that Fathi Khazem hand himself in, but he declined.
His son was shot dead by Israeli forces after a massive manhunt.
A second son, identified as Abdul Rahman Khazem, was killed during an Israeli military raid targeting resistance fighters in the Jenin refugee camp in September 2022.
Violence in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, has surged since the onset of the Gaza genocidal war on October 7, 2023.
At least 1,098 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers, according to Palestinian figures.
