Palestinian man shot dead by Israeli troops during raid near Jericho

A young Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces during a raid near the West Bank city of Jericho on Monday morning, Palestinian health officials said.

The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said it was informed of the death of 20-year-old Suleiman Ayesh Hussein Awaid, after he was shot by Israeli troops in the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp adjacent to Jericho.

The Israel Defense Forces said troops had entered the camp to arrest a wanted Palestinian.

“During the activity, two suspects were spotted fleeing the scene. The soldiers responded with live fire,” the IDF said, adding that the suspects had been hit.

The IDF did not say if the suspects were armed or had attempted to attack troops.

Images circulating online appeared to show Awaid brandishing an assault rifle, and wearing paraphernalia of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, indicating his affiliation with the terror group.

طابت العاصفة بما زرعت ، الشهيد المقاتل سليمان عايش #مخيم عقبة جبر / #أريحا ???????? pic.twitter.com/1QIbsKg0YR

— Badie (@Badiehabet) April 24, 2023

https://twitter.com/HALAKAS000/status/1650444126708531200?s=20

The PA said it was only notified of the death, indicating the man’s body was being held by Israel.

Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been high for the past year, with the Israeli military conducting near-nightly raids in the West Bank amid a series of deadly Palestinian terror attacks.

In addition to the raid in Aqabat Jaber, another 15 wanted Palestinians were detained in other areas of the West Bank.

Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank have left 19 people dead since the beginning of the year and several more seriously hurt.

At least 93 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year, most of them while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces, but some were uninvolved civilians and others were killed under circumstances that are being investigated.