Palestinian shot dead in West Bank raid by Israeli military
Jerusalem, Aug 10 (EFE).- A Palestinian man was shot dead in a violent clash with the Israeli armed forces during a military raid in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The ministry identified the deceased as Amir Khalifa, 27.
It said Khalifa breathed his last in a Nablus city hospital, where he arrived in serious condition after being shot in the head.
The official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, said Khalifa lived in a refugee camp in the north of the West Bank.
He suffered a bullet wound during the clashes with Israeli troops in the area.
The Israeli Army said its soldiers came under fire “during a joint counterterrorism activity in Nablus overnight.”
“The soldiers responded with fire and hits were identified,” the military said in a statement.
The military statement did not specifically mention the fatality on the Palestinian side.
“Rocks were also hurled at soldiers during counterterrorism activities in Judea and Samaria. The forces responded with riot dispersal means and apprehended three wanted suspects. No IDF injuries were reported.”
The killing of a Palestinian man is the latest in a prolonged spiral of violence in the region experiencing its bloodiest year since the Second Intifada (2000-2005).
So far this year, 178 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict in the West Bank or on Israeli territory.
Most of the dead were attackers or militants who died in gun battles with Israeli troops. But the deceased also included civilians, 32 of them being minors.
The region has seen the proliferation of new Palestinian armed groups. Attack by Palestinians have left 28 people dead on the Israeli side, most of them settlers.
Five of the dead on the Israeli side were minors and three were men in uniform. EFE
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