Palestinian woman shot dead by Israeli forces near Bethlehem

Earlier, Israeli soldiers launched a new raid into the occupied West Bank district of Jenin.

A Palestinian woman has been shot dead by Israeli forces near the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The Israeli army said troops fired warning shots in the air when a suspect approached and then “fired towards the suspect’s lower body”, near the southern town of Husan.

The Palestinian health ministry said the woman, aged in her 40s, died after she suffered a torn artery and massive blood loss.

Earlier, Israeli soldiers launched a new raid into the occupied West Bank district of Jenin, home of the suspected attackers who launched recent deadly attacks in the Tel Aviv area.

One Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp on Saturday, while at least 10 people were wounded in clashes in Jenin as well as Jericho and Tulkarem on Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Twenty-four arrests were made in various occupied West Bank cities, the Palestinian Prisoners Club announced.

“Troops are currently operating in the city of Jenin,” the Israeli army said in a brief message.

The military operation came after a man from Jenin allegedly killed three Israelis and wounded more than a dozen others in a popular Tel Aviv nightlife area on Thursday evening.

On Friday, Israel said it had killed the alleged attacker, Raad Hazem, 28.

A total of 14 people have been killed in four attacks in Israel since March 22, including another shooting incident in Bnei Brak, an Orthodox Jewish city near Tel Aviv.

Over the same period, at least 10 Palestinians have been killed.

The Israeli army and border police killed a 25-year-old Palestinian member of Islamic Jihad, the main Palestinian armed movement besides Hamas, in heavy gun battles on Saturday.

Thirteen other Palestinians were wounded in the shooting on Saturday, according to the ministry, including a 19-year-old woman with a bullet to her stomach.

The Israeli army also raided the village of Burqin near Jenin on Saturday, reportedly in an operation to arrest former Palestinian prisoner Nour al-Din Hamada. Two injuries were reported in that raid.

Israel has also restricted access to Jenin, closed Israeli crossings, and stepped up security checks.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Islamic Jihad praised the Tel Aviv attack – drawing criticism from the United Nations – but did not claim responsibility. The attack was condemned by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The recent violence has come amid heightened tensions during Ramadan after violence flared during the Muslim holy month last year leading to 11 days of devastating conflict between Israel and Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip.

Following Thursday’s attack, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gave security agencies “full freedom” to end the deadly violence that has surged since March 22 “in order to defeat terror”.