SEBASTIA, West Bank (AP) – Israeli forces on Saturday shot and killed a Palestinian in disputed circumstances within the northern a part of the occupied West Bank – the newest in an ongoing surge of violence that has gripped the area.
The Israeli military stated in an announcement that two Palestinian males tried to drive a automotive into troopers at Sebastia close to town of Nablus round midnight. Soldiers opened hearth, killing one and wounding the opposite man, the military stated.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health recognized the younger man who was killed as Fawzi Makhalfeh, 18. Palestinian media quoted the victims’ household as saying the 2 didn’t goal troopers however that they had been ambushed whereas driving and that their automotive was riddled with bullets.
The mayor of Sebastia, Mohammad Azem, stated he was one of many first to reach on the scene. He described a scene of bloody carnage, with greater than fifty bullet holes within the chassis. “He was a university student,” Azem stated, “it was just so brutal.”
Sebastia resident Mohammad al-Shaar stated he heard the capturing and rushed to the scene to search out troopers blocking the highway. Speaking subsequent to the ruined automotive, he pointed to blood stains and home windows punctured by dozens of bullet holes.
Hundreds attended the funeral ceremony in Sebastia on Saturday. Makhalfeh’s father helped carry his son’s physique which was lined with the Palestinian flag whereas his head was wrapped in a keffiyeh. He informed native media his son hoped to get married quickly.
Makhalfeh had simply handed his highschool exams and was in good spirits earlier than the capturing, in accordance with native experiences.
The capturing got here hours after a 17-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli hearth elsewhere within the West Bank.
The spiral of violence, which reveals no indicators of abating, is among the worst between Israelis and Palestinians in years. More than 150 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli hearth because the begin of 2023 within the West Bank and east Jerusalem, in accordance with a tally by The Associated Press.
Violence between Israel and the Palestinians within the West Bank intensified early final 12 months when Israel expanded near-nightly raids into Palestinian areas in response to a spate of Palestinian assaults in opposition to Israelis.
Israel says most of these killed have been militants, however stone-throwing youths protesting military raids and others not concerned within the confrontations have additionally been killed.
Israel captured the West Bank within the 1967 Mideast battle, together with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Palestinians search these territories for his or her hoped-for unbiased state.
___
McNeil reported from Jerusalem.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com