2023-08-02 03:14:00
Two Palestinians, one of them 15 years old, were killed on Tuesday by Israeli security forces, in one case after shooting at a group of Israelis in the West Bank and in another after trying to stab soldiers in Hebron, according to the official Israeli versions, which spoke in both events of “neutralized” Palestinians.
Police reported that a Palestinian opened fire on a group of Israelis in a settlement in the occupied West Bank, injuring six people before being “neutralized” by a border police officer.
“A terrorist opened fire on a group of people in Maaleh Adumim”, east of Jerusalemsaid the police in a statement, which reported four wounded civilians.
The individual “was neutralized by a border police officer who was not on duty,” added the armed force.
Two Jerusalem hospitals later indicated that six people had been admitted, including a teenager, and that two are in serious condition, according to the AFP agency.
???? A suspect who was being questioned at the Eshtemoa crossing attempted to stab an IDF soldier today.
The suspect was neutralized.
No IDF injuries were reported. pic.twitter.com/QhORrRa6is— FDI (@FDIonline) August 1, 2023
The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that the attacker, Muhannad Mohammad al-Mazaraah, 20, was killed by “occupation bullets”.
The officer who killed him, whose identity was not released, said he was in a hairdresser’s when he heard gunshots and screams. The attacker, he detailed, was wearing a yellow vest and had a gun.
“I wasn’t sure it was a terrorist”he recounted in a video released by the police.
“I yelled at him to stop and loaded my pistol. He started shooting at me and I understood that he was a terrorist,” he said.
The Israeli Minister of Internal Security, the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, thanked the agent for his quick reaction and the government’s policy of distributing weapons, after visiting the scene of the attack.
Another incident took place in the southern West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, when a group of soldiers questioned a Palestinian at a bus stop.
“The suspect tried to stab them. One of the soldiers neutralized the attacker,” the Army said in a statement, accompanied by a photo of a knife,
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified him as 15-year-old Mohammad Farid al-Zaarir and confirmed his death.
Palestinian government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem condemned Al Zaarir’s death and warned that “children are the constant target of murder, captivity and intimidation”according to the Europa Press agency.
“The feeling of impunity for the perpetrators encourages them to continue committing their crimes,” he asserted, noting that the Palestinian prime minister, Mohamad Shtayé, called on UNICEF to “press for the perpetrators to be brought to international justice and not allow them to escape punishment.”
Since the beginning of last year, the occupied West Bank has been the scene of a series of attacks, both by Palestinians against Israelis, and by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities.
In 2023 at least 204 Palestinians, 27 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian were killed in acts of violence related to the conflictaccording to an AFP count drawn from official sources.
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