Palestinian man shot dead in clash with IDF in southern West Bank
Military says troops entered al-Aroub refugee camp to chase suspects who had hurled stones at Israeli motorists on nearby highway
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A Palestinian man died Friday morning from wounds sustained a day earlier during clashes with Israeli troops in the al-Aroub refugee camp in the southern West Bank, Palestinian health officials said.
Medical sources cited by the official Palestinian official news agency Wafa said Mohammad Jawabreh, 22, was shot in the head during the clashes on Thursday afternoon.
He was taken to the al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron, where medical officials later declared his death.
Some Palestinian media reports identified Jawabreh as a member of the Palestinian Authority’s security services.
The Israel Defense Forces told The Times of Israel that troops were dispatched to the scene following the identification of a number of masked Palestinians hurling stones at Israeli motorists on the nearby Route 60, the West Bank’s main north-south highway.
“The IDF forces that were dispatched to the scene began chasing the suspects into the village,” the IDF said. “During the pursuit, a violent riot erupted, in which the masked men threw stones and cinderblocks from rooftops at the troops, endangering their lives.”
من نابلس وغزة وجنين وصولاً إلى الخليل وما بينهم دمٌ وثأر…
ارتقاء الشاب محمد إسماعيل جوابرة ٢٢ عام متأثرًا بإصابته برصاص الإحتلال اليوم في مخيم العروب شمال الخليل، ليرتفع عدد الشهداء إلى ١٤ خلال يومين. pic.twitter.com/k8fbdXrUND
— ق.ض ???? (@jalestinian2) February 24, 2023
The troops responded with “riot dispersal means and Ruger bullets” fired at the suspects, the IDF said, adding that at least one suspect was hit by gunfire.
The .22-caliber round from a Ruger rifle is considered less lethal than the larger caliber rounds typically used by the military. Human rights groups have condemned the use of the rifle for riot control, as it can still kill. Troops typically fire the Ruger rifle at the lower body of rioters, rather than at the head, which can be deadly.
Several Israelis were lightly hurt in stone-throwing attacks on Thursday in other areas along the Route 60 highway.
On Thursday morning, an Israeli mother and her three young children, aged 2, 5, and 6, were hurt after their car came under a stone-throwing attack by Palestinians near the West Bank town of Huwara.
Later in the day, an Israeli bus driver was lightly hurt after Palestinians hurled stones at his vehicle, close to the illegal Givat Assaf outpost.
Separately on Friday, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said two Palestinians were wounded after Israeli settlers opened fire at them near the village of Qusra, near Nablus in the northern West Bank.
There were no further details on the incident.
Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been high in recent months.
A string of Palestinian terror attacks in Jerusalem have left 11 people dead and several more seriously hurt.
The Israel Defense Forces conducted airstrikes in the Gaza Strip early Thursday, after Palestinians launched rockets at Israel in response to a deadly military raid in Nablus a day earlier.
For the past year, the IDF has been conducting near-nightly raids in the West Bank amid a series of deadly Palestinian terror attacks. Over 60 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.
