A young Palestinian man has been killed in the city of Beersheba in the southern part of the Israeli-occupied territories over an alleged attack on settlers.
Some media outlets said the Palestinian youth was shot dead after he had allegedly killed four settlers, including three women and a man, in a stabbing and car-ramming attack in Beersheba on Tuesday.
Local Palestinian sources said the slain Palestinian man was a former prisoner who was held in Israeli jails, identifying him as Mohammed Ghaleb Abu al-Qian.
While some media reports said the Palestinian man was killed by Israeli forces, Israel’s police spokesman Eli Levy claimed he was shot dead by a passerby, after he “went on a stabbing spree”.
Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said the attack took place at a petrol station and at an outdoor shopping center, adding that at least two other settlers were also wounded.
Israeli troops have on numerous occasions been caught on camera brutally killing Palestinians, with the videos going viral online and sparking international condemnation.
The Tel Aviv regime has been criticized for its extensive use of lethal force against and extrajudicial killing of Palestinians who do not pose an immediate threat to the occupation forces or to the Israeli settlers.
Also on Tuesday, clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the vicinity of Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied al-Quds.
The clashes took place after the Israeli forces escorting bulldozers stormed the area to destroy Palestinian-owned homes and businesses.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that 22 Palestinians were injured during the clashes as the Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at them.
Tensions heightened across the Palestinian territories on February 13, when Israeli forces and illegal settlers renewed their attacks against Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah in al-Quds. The neighborhood has been the scene of frequent crackdowns by Israeli regime forces on the Palestinians protesting against the threatened expulsion of dozens of families from their homes in favor of Israeli settler groups.
The initial tensions that erupted in Sheikh Jarrah last year in part sparked a May 2021 war between the Israeli regime and resistance groups in the Gaza Strip.
In the latest bombardment campaign, at least 260 Palestinians, including over 60 children, were killed in a time span of 11 days that began on May 10. The Gaza-based resistance movements retaliated.
The regime was eventually forced to announce a ceasefire, brokered by Egypt, which came into force in the early hours of May 21.