Israelis kill three Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza

Ramallah, Occupied West Bank – Israeli troops have killed three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip in separate incidents. 

In the West Bank city of Hebron, 22-year-old Uday Jihad Irshaid was killed during a protest by Palestinian youths against the Israeli military.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH) released a statement saying Irshaid was killed by live fire. 

An Israeli military spokesperson told Al Jazeera that Palestinians hurled rocks at the soldiers and rolled burning tyres towards their positions. The soldiers responded with live fire, but the spokesperson could not confirm fatalities.

Another Palestinian, 57-year-old Issa Haroubwas was also killed after allegedly attempting to ram his car into a military checkpoint at Haloul, close to Hebron. 

In Gaza, Palestinians poured out in the hundreds along Israel’s separation barrier with the Strip, to protest and show solidarity with Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and present-day Israel. 

Sami Maadi, who was 41, died after Israeli forces used live fire on a group of protesters in the al-Bureij refugee camp.

Palestinian officials said that another 68 Palestinians in Gaza were seriously injured, 58 from live fire and 10 from asphyxiation due to inhalation of tear gas.

Since October 1, at least 121 Palestinians and 22 Israelis have been killed in the violence.

Speaking from the Gaza Strip, Ramy Abdu, the chairman of the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, told Al Jazeera that by using live fire on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Israelis continued their “policy of using something beyond excessive force” to kill Palestinians who pose no threat to soldiers.

Abdu, whose arm was broken by Israeli troops while attending a non-violent protest during the first Intifada, told Al Jazeera that “the unrest of the past few months is the result of great uncertainty. Palestinians have seen an escalation of brutality from the Israelis, and the international community has turned its back to our cause.

“The people think all rules are off, and that the Intifada is their only option forward,” he said.

Friday’s violence was presaged by an early-morning incursion in the centre of Ramallah.

More than 10 Israeli jeeps and an armoured personnel carrier entered the Palestinian Authority’s administrative capital early in the morning and raided a home, searching for a suspected Palestinian attacker.

The soldiers were confronted by Palestinian residents and clashes ensured, with no injuries reported.

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