Troops kill Palestinian suspected of lobbing firebombs at cars in West Bank

A Palestinian man suspected of throwing firebombs at Israeli vehicles was fatally shot by Israeli troops in the West Bank on Saturday, authorities said.

The IDF said troops opened fire after seeing a group of Palestinians throwing Molotov cocktails toward an Israeli vehicle driving near Beit Awwa in the southern West Bank.

“The soldiers responded with fire and identified a hit to one of the suspects. Two additional suspects were arrested by soldiers and transferred for interrogation by security forces,” the statement said.

The Palestinian Authority health ministry said 18-year-old Badawee Masalma was killed by the troops. It accused the military of keeping medics from reaching Masalma after he was shot.

On Tuesday, thousands of Palestinians in Hebron and across the West Bank protested in a “day of rage” against a US announcement earlier this month that Washington had softened its stance toward Israel’s West Bank settlements.

Dozens of protesters were lightly hurt, according to Palestinian rescue services.

Last week, a dozen Palestinians were reportedly injured in rock attacks by Israelis during an annual Jewish religious pilgrimage to Hebron.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said five people were treated for injuries at local hospitals on Saturday, including an 18-month old baby, whose family said he was hit in the head by a rock that came crashing through the window of his home in Hebron’s Tel Rumeida neighborhood.

The violence came amid a spate of anti-Palestinian hate crimes perpetrated by extremist settlers in the West Bank, including the destruction of Palestinian-owned olive trees, racist graffiti and slashed tires.