JERUSALEM: Israeli police said border officers shot dead a Palestinian man on Monday as he tried to enter Jerusalem by climbing over the barrier separating the city from the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah identified the man as Sanad Najeh Mohammed Hantouli, 25, saying he was killed by Israeli gunfire near the West Bank town of Al-Ram, north of Jerusalem.
An Israeli police spokesperson reported that border police officers “foiled an infiltration attempt through the security barrier in Jerusalem.”
“The suspect was shot and neutralized,” the spokesperson said in a statement, adding he was later pronounced dead by medical teams.
Hantouli’s body was transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah before being taken to his hometown, Silat Al-Dhahr.
Many Palestinians have attempted to cross the separation barrier illegally in recent months, seeking work inside Israel after authorities there revoked thousands of work permits following the outbreak of the Gaza war.
Many have died fleeing from Israeli forces, Palestinian officials say.
Israel began building the barrier at the height of the second Palestinian intifada, which began in 2002, saying it was needed to maintain security amid Palestinian suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Israeli cities.
The barrier cuts into many parts of the West Bank, and Palestinians see it as a land grab and a de facto border, illegal under international law.
Palestinians say the barrier has further deepened the economic crisis in the West Bank.
Israel maintains tight restrictions on the movement of the West Bank’s roughly three million residents, who require special permits to cross checkpoints into East Jerusalem or Israel.
Al-Ram, located near the Qalandiya checkpoint, is separated from Jerusalem by a section of the barrier reinforced with barbed wire.
A joint World Bank, EU and UN report released in February 2025 said just 27,000 Palestinians were working in Israel and West Bank settlements, down from 177,000 before the Gaza war broke out in October 2023.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967.
Violence has sharply escalated in the Palestinian territory since the Gaza war began.
At least 977 Palestinians — both militants and civilians — have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since October 2023, according to AFP figures based on Palestinian Authority data.
In the same period, at least 42 Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in attacks or military operations in the West Bank, Israeli official figures show.
Israel police say Palestinian killed while trying to climb over barrier
https://arab.news/9zvhf
Israel police say Palestinian killed while trying to climb over barrier
- Sanad Hantouli, 25, was killed by Israeli gunfire near the West Bank town of Al-Ram, north of Jerusalem
- Israeli authorities revoked Palestinian work permits since late 2023, prompting laborers from the West Bank to cross the separation barrier “illegally”
Israel army ‘temporarily suspends’ strike on south Lebanon
- The Israeli military issued a warning earlier on Saturday announcing an imminent strike and warning people in the Yanuh area of south Lebanon to evacuate immediately
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it would “temporarily” suspend a strike planned for Saturday that was intended to target what it described as Hezbollah military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
A November 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, which broke out after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
But Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure to stop the group from rearming.
The Israeli military issued a warning earlier on Saturday announcing an imminent strike and warning people in the Yanuh area of south Lebanon to evacuate immediately.
But later Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said “the strike was temporarily suspended,” adding that the military “continues to monitor the target.”
The suspension came after the Lebanese army “requested access again to the specified site... and to address the breach of the agreement,” he said on X.
Adraee added that the military would “not allow” Hezbollah to “redeploy or rearm.”
The year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism includes the United Nations, the United States and France.
A Lebanese security source said the army had previously tried to search the building that the Israeli military wanted to target but could not because of objections from residents.
But the source told AFP that the Lebanese army was able to enter and search the building after returning a second time, because residents “felt threatened,” adding that they were evacuated over fears of a strike.
