Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian man in the central part of the occupied West Bank over an alleged stabbing and car-ramming attack against the regime’s troops.
The Israeli military claimed in a statement that the incident occurred near the illegal settlement of Ariel, located close to the Palestinian city of Salfit, on Thursday.
It further alleged that the Palestinian man initially tried to run over soldiers who were at a junction in the area, and then tried to stab them.
The man was shot and killed. No Israeli troops were injured in the incident.
صور من مكان إطلاق قوات الاحتلال النار تجاه شاب فلسطيني بزعم محاولته تنفيذ عملية طعن قرب مستوطنة أريئيل قرب سلفيت. pic.twitter.com/2bEqBUSZh8
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) April 27, 2023
The official Palestinian Wafa news agency later identified the victim as 39-year-old Ahmad Yaqoub Taha.
Videos of the incident circulating on social media showed an Israeli soldier asking the Palestinian man to get out of his car at gunpoint.
As soon as the man got out of the car, the soldier fired several live bullets at him, killing him on the spot.
#شاهد| لحظة إطلاق قوات الاحتلال النار تجاه شاب فلسطيني بزعم محاولته تنفيذ عملية طعن قرب سلفيت. pic.twitter.com/KMDuQ7p94Q
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) April 27, 2023
On Monday, Israeli forces killed a young Palestinian man and injured three others during a raid on a refugee camp in the eastern West Bank city of Ariha.
The governor of Ariha and the Jordan Valley, Jihad Abu al-Asal, said the man, identified as 20-year-old Suleiman Ayesh, was fatally shot in the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp.
Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested.
Most of the raids have focused on the West Bank cities of Nablus and Jenin, where Israeli forces have been trying to stifle a growing Palestinian resistance against occupation.
Local and international rights groups have condemned Israel’s excessive use of force and “shoot-to-kill policy” against Palestinians.
Since the start of the holy month of Ramadan, the Israeli regime has also imposed strict restrictions on the entry and exit of Palestinians to and from the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque.
On April 4, heavily armed Israeli forces stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound before firing tear gas and stun grenades into the Qibli prayer hall, where hundreds of men, women, elderly people, and children were staying overnight to pray. Some eyewitnesses said rubber-coated steel bullets were also fired.
Israeli forces have wounded and rounded up hundreds of Palestinians during the attacks that have seen a rise since the beginning of Ramadan. Illegal Israeli settlers have, meanwhile, been freely violating the compound under the Israeli military and police force’s protection.