Palestinian killed in West Bank clashes with Israeli troops

Army says dozens of Palestinians threw rocks at soldiers in Salfit during reported raids to take security camera footage

By AFP and Judah Ari Gross 12 March 2019, 8:55 pm Edit
Flames are seen on an Israeli army vehicle after it was hit with a firebomb during clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank village of Beit Sira, west of Ramallah, on March 8, 2019. (Abbas Momani/AFP)
Flames are seen on an Israeli army vehicle after it was hit with a firebomb during clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank village of Beit Sira, west of Ramallah, on March 8, 2019. (Abbas Momani/AFP)

A Palestinian man died after being shot by Israeli forces during clashes Tuesday in the West Bank, medics and the Palestinian Authority health ministry said.

The army said dozens of Palestinians rioted in the village of Salfit and threw rocks at Israeli troops, who responded with riot dispersal means.

An army spokesperson said “there was no known use of live fire.”

The Red Crescent emergency medical services said they evacuated a man wounded during the clashes.

The health ministry pronounced his death and named him as Mohammed Shaheen, 23. According to the official Palestinian news outlet Wafa, he had been hit in the chest with a bullet.

The clashes erupted as Israeli soldiers raided the village to take footage from surveillance cameras, according to Wafa.

The fighting followed a series of other violent incidents in the West Bank and East Jerusalem on Tuesday.

In Hebron, soldiers shot dead a Palestinian man who the Israel Defense Forces said tried to stab them.

“IDF soldiers spotted the terrorist armed with a knife as he ran toward them. The soldiers pushed the terrorist back as he tried to run into a nearby civilian building. The soldiers shot the terrorist, thwarting the attack, and he was killed,” the army said.

Israeli border police secure one of the entrances of the Temple Mount compound in the Old City of Jerusalem after closing the access to the site on March 12, 2019. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

Later on Tuesday, Israeli police shuttered the Temple Mount holy site after a firebomb was thrown at officers, further adding to recent tensions at the flashpoint holy site.

Israeli authorities said the site would reopen on Wednesday.

Defense officials have warned that the coming months may see an escalation in violence in the already restive West Bank and Gaza Strip, in light of added pressure from the upcoming Israeli elections, US President Donald Trump’s plans to announce his proposal for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, and ongoing struggles between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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