Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian in Al Khalil's Old City after Alleged Attack
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israeli forces Saturday morning shot dead a Palestinian in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in the Old City of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the southern occupied West Bank, the fifth Palestinian to be killed by Israelis in less than 48 hours.
Local sources identified the slain Palestinian as 25-year-old Hatim Abd al-Hafeeth Shaludi.
An Israeli army statement claimed that Shaludi had stabbed a soldier before he was shot dead by Israeli forces. Israeli media reported that the soldier was slightly injured.
An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that the series of attacks were “another example of the danger of Palestinian incitement through social media,” adding that the Israeli army is “conducting intensive intelligence and operational efforts to stop the violence.”
However, the spokesperson could not explain to Ma’an how these attacks were connected to “incitement through social media.”
On Friday evening, 15-year-old Muhammad Thalji Kayid Thalji al-Rajabi was also shot and killed in the Tel Rumeida area of al-Khalil's Old City after reportedly stabbing and lightly injuring an Israeli soldier.
According to a Ma'an tally, at least 227 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis and some 32 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians since a wave of unrest first swept across the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel in October.
The al-Khalil area in particular grew as the epicenter of upheaval, with Israeli authorities severely restricting the movement of Palestinians by declaring the area of Tel Rumeida and other parts of the Old City as a "closed military zone" for several months in November amid dozens of incidents in which more than 40 Palestinians were killed.
Israel has come under repeated criticism for failing to carry out due process in response to alleged and actual attacks, particularly in regard to the apparent extrajudicial executions of Palestinians who no longer posed a threat when they were killed.
