Israeli troops shoot dead Palestinian who rammed car into soldier

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian man on Wednesday after a suspected car-ramming attack at a checkpoint west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank that left a soldier severely injured, Palestinian and Israeli officials said.

The Israeli military said troops opened fire after the man approached the checkpoint between Jerusalem and the Israeli city of Mod'in and attempted to run over an officer with his car before getting out and attacking the officer with an axe.

It did not confirm his death but Palestinian officials said they were informed by the Israeli liaison office that the man, identified as 54-year-old Habbas Rayyan, had been killed.

Israeli emergency services said they were treating a 20-year-old male soldier with limb injuries who was in severe condition.

The incident, a day after an election that saw former right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu poised to return to power, followeds months of deadly Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank which have killed and injured hundreds of Palestinians.

Also on Wednesday, Israeli forces arrested at least eight Palestinians in various towns in the West Bank, including Tulkarm and Bethlehem, the Arabic news website Arabi 21 reported.

The UN last week said that 2022 was on course to be the deadliest year for Palestinians since 2005.

The Palestinians and rights groups accuse Israeli troops of using excessive force against the Palestinians, without being held accountable. Israeli settlers in the West Bank have also carried out frequent attacks, sometimes under the protection of Israeli troops.

In a previous incident on Sunday, a Palestinian was shot dead after he carried out a car-ramming attack against Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and has built more than 130 settlements there in violation of international law. Many of these settlements resemble small towns, with luxurious amenities, while Palestinians in the territory suffer from Israeli restrictions, attacks and closures.

The Palestinians want the West Bank to form the main part of their future state.

(Reuters, AP, and The New Arab Staff)