Israeli army kills Palestinian man at West Bank checkpoint

Jerusalem, Sep 6 (IANS) Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man at a military checkpoint in the northern West Bank, the army and Palestinian officials said.

The Israeli military said on Friday that the man, described as a "terrorist", approached troops near the village of Burin, southwest of Nablus, and threw a suspicious object, Xinhua news agency reported.

It said he ignored soldiers' instructions, prompting them to use live fire during "a standard arrest procedure".

No Israeli soldiers were hurt.

Palestine's official WAFA news agency identified the man as Ahmed Abdel Fattah Shahadeh, 57, from the town of Urif in the Nablus Governorate.

It said troops opened fire near the Al-Murabba'a checkpoint.

Ahmed Ameed, director of the Red Crescent Ambulance and Emergency Centre in Nablus, said that ambulance crews were dispatched after reports of gunfire but were prevented by soldiers from reaching the wounded man.

In a separate statement, the Israeli army said that over the past week it had arrested 70 Palestinians, seized rifles and pistols, and destroyed explosive devices in several West Bank villages.

More than 720,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, home to about 3.3 million Palestinians.

Israel captured the territories in the 1967 Middle East war and has since built settlements there.

The settlements and the occupation are considered illegal under international law.

Palestinians are frequently subjected to beatings, abuse, and searches while passing through Israeli military checkpoints in the occupied West Bank.

According to the Palestinian Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC), there are 898 permanent and temporary Israeli barriers and checkpoints that divide Palestinian lands and impose restrictions on the movement of people and goods. These include more than 156 iron gates installed after October 2023.

The same commission documented around 1,613 violations by the Israeli army and illegal settlers against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank during August, including 431 attacks carried out by settlers.

Since the start of Israel's war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, settlement expansion, home demolitions, and forced displacement have intensified in the West Bank.

Palestinian officials warn such measures undermine the feasibility of a two-state solution.

--IANS

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