Palestinian resistance fighters intercept, shoot down Israeli quadcopter over West Bank

Palestinian resistance fighters have intercepted and shot down an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle as it was on a reconnaissance mission in the skies over a refugee camp in the northern sector of the occupied West Bank.

“We and the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (affiliated with the Fatah movement) managed, at dawn today, to shoot down an Israeli drone, and we succeeded in controlling it after targeting it with bullets,” the Jenin Brigade – affiliated to the al-Quds Brigade, the military arm of the Islamic Jihad movement – said in a press statement on Sunday.

A video shared on social media showed men in Jenin in possession of the Israeli quadcopter.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military announced in a brief statement that the army drone crashed late at night in Jenin, noting that an investigation into the incident is underway.

Also in the West Bank town of Tulkarm, the Tulkarm Brigade – also affiliated to the al-Quds Brigade – confirmed in a press release that they targeted the nearby Einav settlement with a barrage of bullets on Saturday, adding that they also targeted a car which settlers were travelling in, reportedly causing injuries.

The developments come at a time of surging violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in the past 15 months.

Back on June 19, Israeli soldiers stormed Jenin and fired live ammunition, stun grenades and toxic gas, according to the WAFA news agency. At least seven Palestinians, including one minor, were killed and more than 90 people suffered injuries.

MG