Israeli forces kill Palestinian in Jerusalem after alleged soldier attack

Israeli forces kill Palestinian in Jerusalem after alleged soldier attack
A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli police on Saturday after allegedly attempting to stab soldiers in Jerusalem's annexed Old City.
3 min read
22 February, 2020
Israeli forces routinely impose extreme violence on Palestinians [Getty]

Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in Jerusalem's annexed Old City on Saturday after he allegedly approached officers posted near one of the gates armed with a knife, police said.

Police did not immediately release further details on the identity of the suspect.

"At approximately 11 am a terrorist approached border police officers at Lion's Gate armed with a knife. He ran towards them," a police statement said, a term ususally used by Israeli authorities to describe Palestinians.

"Police responded by calling upon the terrorist to stop. He continued to approach them and they responded again by shooting the terrorist to prevent any further danger. The terrorist was shot and killed." 

A woman in the area was "injured lightly by shrapnel" and taken to hospital, the statement added. 

On Friday, police reported an attempted stabbing south of Jerusalem.

Read also: Saudi Arabia to improve relations with Israel after Palestinian peace deal

At the start of month, a Jerusalem car-ramming wounded 14 people, 12 of them Israeli soldiers, and triggered clashes in the West Bank that saw five Palestinians killed.

The attacks come after US President Donald Trump's much-delayed announcement on January 28 of a controversial peace plan that Palestinians from across the political spectrum have angrily dismissed as a gift to Israel.

Last week reports suggested a nine-year-old Palestinian boy would lose his eye after he was shot by Israeli forces outside a refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem.

Malek Issa was shot by Israeli forces while walking home from school on Saturday in Issawiya neighbourhood of the occupied city.

Meanwhile, 11 others were detained by Israeli forces, including minors, during raids in different cities across the the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS) said.

According to their statement, Israeli soldiers abducted four Palestinians from Bethlehem, three from Hebron, and one from Jenin.

Among those detained in Hebron was a 17-year-old teenager.

Israeli forces detained three Palestinians teenagers in East Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood. They were identified as Senan Awwad, 17, Abdullah Taha, 17, and Urabi Gheith, 14.

Over half-a-century of illegal occupation

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967, and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, human rights groups say.

More than 600,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.

The Oslo agreement of 1995 divided the occupied West Bank into three: Area A, Area B and Area C.

Area A is under the administrative and security control of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Area B's administration is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, with Israel controlling security. Area C is under full administrative and security control of Israel.

Israeli forces and settlers routinely harass Palestinians in the occupied territories through harming and killing civilians, demolishing homes, poisoning livestock, vandalising property and other forms of violence. 

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