Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces over alleged stabbing

A 28-year-old Palestinian man was killed by Israeli forces after he allegedly stabbed an Israeli officer at a checkpoint in the West Bank town of Qalandia late on Friday.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

01 October, 2016

The wounded Israeli officer was rushed to hospital late on Friday [AFP]

A Palestinian man was killed late on Friday after allegedly stabbing a member of the Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Qalandia, Israeli police said.

The 28-year-old man, who was not identified, approached an Israeli checkpoint before allegedly stabbing an Israeli officer in his upper body.

He was immediately gunned down and the wounded officer was rushed to hospital.

"We heard the gun shots near the checkpoint," local sources told The New Arab. "Then we saw the body of the young man lying on the ground."

Israeli forces sealed off the area, closing the checkpoint which enabled Palestinians to cross into Jerusalem.

A new surge of violence began last week after Palestinians wrapped up the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha and as Israel tightened security ahead of major Jewish holidays in October.

On Wednesday, rights group Amnesty International accused Israel of carrying out "unlawful killings" in its response to alleged stabbing attacks.

It said Israeli forces were displaying "an appalling disregard for human life by using reckless and unlawful lethal force against Palestinians."

The rights group said it sent a memorandum to authorities in Tel Aviv detailing 20 cases of "unlawful killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces."

"Palestinians were deliberately shot dead, despite posing no imminent threat to life, in what appear to be extrajudicial executions," Amnesty said.

The "worrying rise in unlawful killings by Israeli forces" over the last year has been "fostered by a culture of impunity," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International' research and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"The Israeli government must urgently reform its investigation systems so that it can fulfil this duty and bring those responsible for extrajudicial executions to justice."

Israel is yet to respond to the rights group's concerns.