Israeli forces kill Palestinian, injure three others in raid on occupied West Bank

Israeli military forces have shot dead a Palestinian man and injured at least three others during an incursion in the northeastern part of the occupied West Bank amid a sharp uptick in deadly Israeli military raids and rampages by extremist settlers on Palestinians.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing medical officials, reported that 36-year-old Abdelrahim Fayez Ghannam was critically shot in the head as Israeli soldiers raided the village of Aqabah early on Friday morning. He was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Israeli soldiers reportedly fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters. They surrounded a house belonging to a local resident, identified as Abdel Razzaq Abu Arra, before seriously damaging it with a rocket-propelled grenade. Abu Arra was arrested, along with his son.

Residents in the area said there were armed clashes with Israeli forces. Four young men sustained gunshot wounds during the confrontations.

Two of them, including Ghannam, were wounded by live ammunition, while the other two were struck by rubber-coated metal bullets.

The Israeli forces also arrested members of a family during the raid. They later released three of them but kept one in custody.

Israeli forces launch raids on various cities of the West Bank almost on a daily basis under the pretext of detaining what the regime calls “wanted” Palestinians. The raids usually lead to violent confrontations with residents.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed this year in the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza. The majority of these fatalities have been recorded in the West Bank.

At least 32 people have been killed in Palestinian retaliatory attacks against Israeli settlers during that time.

More than 5,000 Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in West Bank since start of year: Report

Israeli forces have arrested more than 5,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the year.

Those figures indicate that 2023 is already the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since the United Nations began keeping track of fatalities in 2005.

Previously, 2022 had been the deadliest year with 150 Palestinians killed, of whom 33 were minors, according to the United Nations.

The rising number of fatalities last year prompted UN experts to condemn the treatment of Palestinians, including attacks on their homes and destruction of their property.

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