According to the Palestinian health ministry and doctors, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian and injured others during a protest against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The guy was shot in the head by Israeli forces in the northern hamlet of Beita and died as a result of his injuries at a hospital in Nablus, according to the ministry.
Beita has been the site of recurrent demonstrations against Jewish settlement development, with residents protesting since May against the Eviatar settlement outpost, which was built without Israeli authority nearby.
Jamil Abu Ayyash, a Palestinian from Nablus in the West Bank, was named as the victim by Palestinian media.
According to Palestinian media, the Israeli army has killed at least nine Palestinians with live bullets since the start of clashes in Beita. Rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters have also injured hundreds.
The Israeli army claimed it was “informed” of reports of a Palestinian being killed, and that a “violent riot” had broken out near the Givat Eviatar outpost south of Nablus.
“During the riot, hundreds of Palestinians hurled burning tyres and rocks at Israel Defence Force and Israeli Border Police troops, who responded with riot dispersal means to restore order,” a statement from the military said.
In the West Bank, which is home to more than 2.8 million Palestinians, roughly 475,000 Israeli settlers live in illegal settlements, excluding occupied East Jerusalem. International law considers settlements in the occupied Palestinian areas to be unlawful.
The West Bank, which Israel took in the 1967 Six-Day War, is seen by Palestinians as part of their future state. Palestinians claim that Israel’s settlement strategy in the occupied Palestinian territory is aimed at changing the demographics.
After several attempts by Israeli settlers to take over Palestinian territory, Jabal Sabih near Beita, a Palestinian town on the southern fringes of Nablus in the northern West Bank, has been the location of fierce confrontations this year.
The Israeli army is threatening to confiscate the land, declaring it “state land” or turning it into a military base.
