Palestinian man killed by settler car ramming in Jordan Valley

A Palestinian man was killed and two injured after an Israeli settler rammed his car into them while they were hiking in the Jordan valley area of the West Bank.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

12 February, 2021

Settlers have recently launched several attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank [Getty]

A Palestinian youth was killed and two others wounded on Friday morning after a settler ran his car into them in the north of the Jordan Valley area of the occupied West Bank.

The secretary of the Fatah movement in the governorate of Tubas and the Jordan Valley, Mahmoud Sawafta, told The New Arab’s Arabic language service that the men were hiking on a natural path between the villages of Bardala and Ain Al-Baida.

The man who was killed was identified as 52-year-old Bilal Bawatneh from the city of al-Bireh, and the injured are residents of al-Bireh and Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that their medics arrived at the scene and received Bawatneh’s body in an ambulance before he died, and Israeli medics in the occupied West Bank evacuated the injured to a hospital in the northern Israeli city of Afula.

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Ambulance officer Hassan Faqha told The New Arab's Arabic language service that Palestinian Red Crescent crews were not allowed to move until an Israeli doctor arrives to examine the body, as per Israeli procedures in the occupied West Bank.

Faqha added that the Bawatneh's body will be transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah.

In an earlier incident, Azzam Amer from the village of Kafr Qalil, southeast of Nablus, was killed on Wednesday after being run over by a settler. Last week, Khaled Nofal, a young Palestinian from the village of Ras Karkar village near Ramallah, was shot dead by settlers.

On Friday, Palestinians were preparing to hold several marches across the West Bank against the expansion of settlements after noon prayers.

Earlier this month, Israeli soldiers dismantled tents and livestock pens in the Bedouin village of Khirbet Humsa in the Jordan Valley. This was the second time they had attempted to destroy the village.

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor received approval on February 5 to investigate war crimes in the occupied territories, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. All Palestinian parties welcomed the announcement, while Israel called on the international community to reject the ICC’s decision.

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