The Israeli forces killed a Palestinian resistance leader on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on 23 March, during a military raid in the southeastern village of Izbat Shoufa in the occupied West Bank.

The deceased was identified as Amir Imar Abu Khadijeh, with local reports indicating that he had been shot in the head and rushed to the hospital.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, the bullet’s impact resulted in the laceration of his skull, and he had also been shot in his lower limbs.

Abu Khadijeh is one of the founding leaders of the Tulkarm Brigade, a resistance group based in the West Bank. The brigade gained recognition following an Israeli army raid in the city of Nablus, which resulted in 11 Palestinians being massacred.

Palestinian activist Murad Droubi remarked that a swarm of Israeli troops raided the village, preventing people and cars from moving, as the soldiers surrounded Abu Khadijeh’s house.

The Palestinian health ministry also disclosed that 90 Palestinians, including 17 children and one woman, have been killed since the start of the year.

Several international and local rights groups have criticized the Israeli forces’ unrestricted use of force and “shoot-to-kill policy” against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The Tulkarm Brigade released a statement in response to the killing of Abu Khadijeh: “We swear by all that Allah has made lawful in vows, we will avenge you, our brother.”

Ever since, the resistance faction has claimed responsibility for three shootings against the illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank, known as the Avnei Hefetz.

This comes as the Palestinian Authority (PA) is working to prevent new Palestinian resistance factions from gaining a foothold in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm, which was revealed after a PA official spoke with the Jerusalem Post.

The PA has long maintained deep security ties with the Israeli army to suppress resistance in the West Bank. Their collaboration with the apartheid government has led to plummeting support by citizens across the occupied territories.

On 16 March, Israeli forces infiltrated downtown Jenin in the occupied West Bank and assassinated three members of the Palestinian resistance, along with a 16-year-old boy.