RAMALLAH, Palestine 

Another Palestinian died from Israeli army fire in the West Bank city of Jenin on Sunday, taking the death toll from a military operation in the area to 16, the Health Ministry said.

A ministry statement said that a 26-year-old man breathed his last to serious injuries sustained on Tuesday from Israeli fire in the Jenin refugee camp.

According to Palestinian figures, at least 16 Palestinians have been killed and 50 others injured in an Israeli military operation in the Jenin camp since Tuesday.

Israeli media said the Jenin assault is part of a political maneuver by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to appease far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who opposed a recent Gaza ceasefire. Reports suggest that Netanyahu promised the attack to prevent Smotrich from resigning, which could collapse the government.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank due to Israel’s war on Gaza, where over 47,300 people were killed and 111,500 others injured since Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 876 Palestinians have been killed and more than 6,700 injured by Israeli forces in the occupied territory, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Betul Yilmaz