AQABAH, West Bank: Israeli forces on Friday killed a Palestinian in the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, as a surge of deadly violence in the occupied territory shows no signs of abating.
The ministry said Abdul Rahim Fayez Ghannam, 36, was “shot by live occupation (Israeli) fire in the head” in the village of Al-Aqaba in the northern West Bank.
An AFP photographer saw black smoke billowing from a building during the military raid.
The Israeli army said in a statement a firefight broke out between militants and soldiers and “a hit was identified on one of the gunmen.”
Troops also “used shoulder-fired missiles and grenades” in the violence, and subsequently found improvised explosive devices and other weapons in the building, the statement said.
After Israeli forces withdrew, Palestinian residents inspected bullet marks and a gaping hole left in the wall of a house.
Mourners gathered for the funeral of Ghannam, whose head was wrapped in a keffiyeh while his body was shrouded in a Palestinian flag.
The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank and Israel this year is the highest since 2005, according to the United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA.
The soaring violence has also involved a rise in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
On Thursday, a Palestinian man rammed into Israeli soldiers near a West Bank checkpoint, killing one, before being shot dead.
A day earlier, Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in Jerusalem after he stabbed a passenger on a tram.
So far this year, at least 225 Palestinians, 32 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian have been killed in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an AFP tally based on official sources on both sides.
Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in West Bank
https://arab.news/mqbab
Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in West Bank
- Abdul Rahim Fayez Ghannam, 36, was “shot by live occupation (Israeli) fire in the head”
- Firefight broke out between militants and soldiers
Israel detains Al-Aqsa imam as PA warns of escalation during Ramadan
- Israeli authorities have prohibited 250 people from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque since January
- Knesset member Amit Halevi called for Jewish prayers at the site during Ramadan
LONDON: Israeli authorities detained Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abbasi, the imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, from within the mosque’s courtyards as 222 settlers stormed the site on Monday.
The Palestinian Authority warned of an Israeli escalation at the Al-Aqsa compound in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem, ahead of and during the fasting month of Ramadan, which starts this week.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that Israeli authorities have prohibited 250 people from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque since January. This week, they prevented the Jerusalem Endowments Council from preparing for Ramadan by blocking the installation of umbrellas for sun and rain protection, and the setup of temporary clinics, according to Wafa news agency.
The governorate also condemned the visit of Israeli Knesset member Amit Halevi to Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday, accompanied by Israeli police. It said that Halevi’s incursion was part of a provocative tour with the “Temple Mount Administration,” amid rising Israeli calls to change the reality at Al-Aqsa Mosque and alter the historic status quo.
Halevi advocated continuing what he described as “Jewish prayers” at the site during the month of Ramadan, Wafa added.
The governorate also reported that Israeli forces issued a six-month ban on freed prisoner and Al-Aqsa Mosque guard Fadi Alyan from entering the mosque.
