Palestinian killed by IDF, allegedly after trying to attack cars in West Bank
Reports say suspect deliberately started a fire near Route 443; later arrived wounded at checkpoint
A Palestinian man was shot dead Tuesday night in the West Bank by Israeli forces, with Israeli media saying he had been attempting to start a fire next to a local highway.
Official Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA said the incident occurred near the village of Beit Ur al-Tahta, west of Ramallah, and that the soldiers “left [the man] to bleed until he was martyred.”
Israel’s Army Radio said the man was apparently shot by Israel Defense Forces soldiers during an ambush on Route 443, which passes near Beit Ur al-Tahta and is used by many Israelis on their way to or from Jerusalem.
The past week has seen many incidents in which firebombs were thrown by Palestinians at Israeli cars, the report said.
On Tuesday night, the forces saw a suspect igniting a fire near the road, shot at him and saw him flee the scene, the report said, adding that no firebomb was found.
About an hour and a half later, a man arrived at the nearby Maccabim checkpoint with gunshot wounds in his chest and leg, the report said, adding that he was apparently the man shot earlier.
Soldiers tried to give him life-saving medical treatment but ended up pronouncing him dead.
Army Radio said the man was a resident of East Jerusalem who has a criminal record. Palestinian sources cited by Al-Jazeera named him as Raed Yousef Rashid, 38.
Separately on Tuesday, the Shin Bet security agency said it had arrested two Palestinian suspects in a shooting attack on Israeli troops, during a violent demonstration near the West Bank city of Hebron in the midst of May’s flare-up between Israel and terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
A soldier was struck with two bullets. One hit the radio communicator he was carrying, and the other hit his helmet. The soldier lost consciousness as a result of the bullet hitting his helmet, but did not require medical treatment, the Shin Bet said.
Some 25 West Bank Palestinians were killed in violent clashes with Israeli troops during the war before Israel and Hamas declared a ceasefire. The mass demonstrations had erupted in protest of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, as well as Israeli policies in Jerusalem.
In recent nights, Palestinians have been rioting near the Gaza border, setting tires alight and rolling them toward soldiers stationed along the frontier, and lobbing improvised explosives.
