AQRABA: Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, while the military said it killed a suspect who had attempted to attack troops. The Palestinian health ministry announced the death of 28-year-old Abdul Karim Muhammad Khader Suleiman, who it said was “shot and killed by the occupation forces on Tuesday morning in the town of Aqraba”. It said his body was being withheld by Israeli authorities. The Israeli military said soldiers arrived in Aqraba, in the north of the West Bank, “in order to question a terrorist”, who then threw a Molotov cocktail and an improvised explosive device towards them, causing no injuries. It said soldiers surrounded and then entered the building, where they encountered him holding a knife “which he intended to use to attack the soldiers” and killed him. AFP footage from the scene showed the exterior wall of the targeted house with gaping holes in the side, while young Palestinian boys stood among the pile of rubble strewn below. An eyewitness and Aqraba’s mayor said Israeli forces had fired projectiles at the house and brought in military bulldozers. The mayor, Salah al-Din Jaber, said between 300 and 400 soldiers raided the town overnight, declared it a closed military zone, and surrounded the house. Suleiman’s wife and mother left the house first, and he stayed inside, Jaber told AFP by telephone. “After that, they arrested him and executed him in front of the house, and they seized his body.” “This was a show of force, nothing more and nothing less,” he added. Jaber said the slain man had been unarmed and there had been no exchange of fire. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and violence in the territory has soared since October, 2023. According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 1,108 Palestinians in the West Bank, including civilians and militants, since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Israeli figures show at least 48 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations during the same period.