- i24news
- Middle East
- West Bank & Gaza Strip
- Report: Palestinian killed near Bethlehem
Report: Palestinian killed near Bethlehem
Israel's defense establishment remains on high alert amid a wave of terrorist attacks
Israeli soldiers near Bethlehem killed a Palestinian Sunday night, according to Palestinian sources.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry said the man was Muhammad Ali Ghnim, a 21-year-old from the town of al-Khader, several miles west of Bethlehem.
The Israel Defense Forces tweeted that during an operation in the area, "the fighters identified a suspect who threw Molotov cocktails at an Israeli vehicle traveling on Route 60 and endangered the passengers." Route 60 is the major north-south highway in the West Bank.
The military said the force opened fire and hit the suspect.
Earlier in the day, an unarmed Palestinian woman in the nearby town of Husan was shot dead after she approached Israeli soldiers, who reportedly aimed for her lower body after calls for her to stop coming closer and warning shots fired in the air.
This comes amid heightened tensions during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as Israel's defense establishment remains on high alert during a wave of terrorist attacks.
More than a dozen Israelis have been killed in attacks on the cities of Be'er Sheva, Hadera and Bnei Brak in recent weeks, with another deadly attack on a Tel Aviv bar coming last Thursday after the beginning of Ramadan.