Israel forces kill Palestinian in West Bank as 3 injured in settlers' assault in Jerusalem

AFP , Ahram Online , Thursday 10 Aug 2023

Israeli forces on Thursday shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials and a relative of the deceased said.

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Palestinian Ameer Khalifa,27, was shot and killed by Israeli fire in a raid on West Bank. photo courtesy of WAFA News Agency.

 

Amir Ahmed Mohammed Khalifa, 27, was killed during a raid on Zawata, a town west of the city of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement.

"He was shot in the head and back with two bullets fired by the Israeli occupation soldiers during their aggression on the town of Zawata," the statement said.

Khalifa, who lived in Ain Beit Ilma refugee camp near Nablus, was "wanted by Israeli forces for two years and had refused to surrender," a family member, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told AFP.

Since early last year, deadly violence has rocked the northern West Bank, where Israel has stepped up deadly military raids in the crowded neighbourhoods.

The violence has since killed at least 213 Palestinians and 28 Israelis.

Meanwhile, three Palestinian were injured on Thursday in Jerusalem during an assault by Israeli settlers in a public park, Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, reported.

Local sources said that the three youths were taken to a hospital with injuries and bruises, one of whom suffered a head injury after an Israeli settler hit him with a sharp object.

Israeli forces raided several Jerusalem neighbourhoods and towns, sparking confrontations with Palestinians, during which soldiers fired concussion grenades and tear gas bombs towards Palestinians, according to WAFA. 

On Wednesday, an Israeli settler suspected in Friday’s shooting death of Qusai Jamal Maatan, a 19-year-old Palestinian man in the West Bank town of Burqa, was released from detention and transferred to house arrest, a Jerusalem court said.

The Israeli judge said there was insufficient evidence to extend the detention of the extremist Israeli settler, Elisha Yared.

The court also ordered a second Israeli settler in the attack, Yehiel Indore, to remain in custody while being hospitalized for wounds sustained during the attack.

The US State Department has condemned the killing of Qusai as terrorism by the Israeli settlers.

"We strongly condemn yesterday's terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers that killed a 19-year-old Palestinian", the US State Department said in a statement on Monday.

Incidents of Israeli settlers' attacks against Palestinians have been on the rise, according to a report from the UN humanitarian agency OCHA. The report stated that during the first half of 2023, there were 591 settler-related attacks in the occupied West Bank, resulting in casualties and property damage within the Palestinian population.

This accounts for an average of 99 incidents each month, which reflects a 39 percent increase when compared to the monthly average of 71 incidents for 2022.

All Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law. However, the Israeli coalition government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, includes two parties with substantial support from settlers living in the West Bank. This coalition seeks to strengthen Israel's dominion over occupied Palestinian territories.

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