Lost Israel troops stray into camp, sparking bloody clashes

Traffic app Waze said the soldiers themselves were at fault, with a setting that tells the app to avoid “dangerous areas” having been turned off and the driver having deviated from the suggested route.

An elderly Palestinian man passes a burnt-out car as the funeral of Eyad Omar Sajdia takes place at the Qalandiya refugee camp, West Bank on March 1, 2016. Sajdia was killed as the Israeli army carried out an operation to rescue two Israeli soldiers who had accidently entered the camp in their military vehicle, causing riots. Atef Safadi/EPAShow less

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK // Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank as troops entered a refugee camp to rescue two soldiers who strayed into the premises.

The clashes at Qalandiya refugee camp that began late on Monday also wounded 10 people, said the Palestinian health ministry.

The dead Palestinian, identified as Eyad Omar Sajdia, a 22-year-old student, died of gunshot wounds.

Israel said five soldiers and five paramilitary border policemen were hurt in the rescue operation.

Israeli defence minister Moshe Yaalon said the soldiers “apparently used Waze” – the Israeli-developed driving app now owned by Google. The military said it was investigating.

Waze however said the soldiers themselves were at fault, with a setting that tells the app to avoid “dangerous areas” having been turned off and the driver having deviated from the suggested route.

Israeli officials said the two soldiers were targeted with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Reinforcements were quickly dispatched to the camp between Jerusalem and Ramallah to rescue them, provoking further clashes that lasted hours. The two soldiers were later rescued unharmed.

A trail of blood could be seen extending down a wall from a roof where Sajdia was believed to have been when he was shot.

The narrow roads of the camp were littered with rocks and other debris, and several thousand people later attended Sajdia’s funeral, his body wrapped in a Palestinian flag.

Sajdia’s father, Omar, said a huge contingent of Israeli forces arrived at the camp.

“If you want to describe the situation you would say there is a war,” he said as he received guests who paid their respects at his home.

Residents said the Israeli reinforcements included a bulldozer that caused damage to homes.

The incident came during a period of heightened tensions since October in which Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car rammings have killed at least 170 Palestinians – 112 of whom Israel says were assailants, while most others were shot dead by Israeli security forces during violent anti-Israeli protests. A US citizen and 28 Israelis were killed in the same period.

Mr Yaalon said the two soldiers got into trouble because they had relied on satellite navigation on their mobile phone.

“I have always said that if even if you use a navigation programme, you still need to know how to navigate with a map,” Mr Yaalon said.

The Qalandiya camp lies north of Jerusalem and on the outskirts of Ramallah, the Palestinian seat of government. It is a point of frequent violence between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops.

Israeli raids on Qalandiya to arrest suspects have sparked heavy clashes in the past.

The camp is located just beyond a checkpoint separating annexed east Jerusalem and the West Bank. The heavily fortified crossing is a hated symbol of the Israeli occupation for Palestinians.

Qalandiya camp was established in 1949 in the wake of the creation of Israel and has grown into a densely populated town with 11,000 registered refugees.

Nearly one in five residents is unemployed, according to the UN, and around 60 per cent are under 25 years old.

Palestinian leaders have said that with no breakthrough on the horizon, desperate youngsters see no future ahead. Israel says young Palestinians are being incited to violence by their leaders and by extremist groups calling for Israel’s destruction.

* Reuters and Agence France-Presse