News / Palestine

Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian man in northern West Bank

Friday, 26 August 2016 12:37 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 26 August 2016 4:08 PM ]

Relatives mourn next to the body of Palestinian Mohammed Abu Hashash, who was shot dead during clashes with Israeli forces, before his funeral at the family's house in al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), on August 17, 2016. (© AFP)

Israeli military forces have fatally shot a Palestinian man at a military check post near the illegal Ofra settlement in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli soldiers opened fire at 38-year-old Iyad Zakariya Hamed from close range at the entrance to the town of Silwad, located 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) northeast of Ramallah, on Friday afternoon, Arabic-language Safa news agency reported.

An unnamed Israeli spokesman said Hamed came at the soldiers' guard post running. Israeli soldiers then fired shots at the Palestinian man, killing him on the spot.

Israel’s Hebrew-language media outlets initially reported that the slain Palestinian man had opened fire from inside a car, and that a woman might have accompanied him.

They further alleged that he was shot and critically injured inside his vehicle, and later succumbed to his gunshot wounds.

Later investigations, however, dismissed earlier allegations, and showed that the Palestinian man, who is survived by three children, was unarmed at the time and had no weapons on him. No signs of gunfire were found at the site as well.

The development came only a few hours after two young Palestinian men were shot in the leg during clashes with Israeli soldiers in Dheisheh refugee camp just south of Bethlehem.

On Wednesday, a 24-year-old Palestinian man, identified as Sari Muhammad Abu Ghurab, was shot dead by Israeli forces near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, situated approximately 49 kilometers (30 miles) north of Jerusalem al-Quds, after allegedly trying to stab an Israeli soldier.

Israeli media reported that the Israeli soldier suffered light wounds during the alleged attack.

The occupied territories have witnessed a fresh bout of tensions ever since Israeli forces restricted the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.

More than 230 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the tensions since the beginning of last October.

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