Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian armed with knife

Israeli forces says they shot dead a 31-year-old Palestinian man who they accused of charging at soldiers with a knife.

Palestinians clash with Israeli soldiers at the Howwara checkpoint, near Nablus
Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man during an alleged stabbing attempt near Nablus [File: Alaa Badarneh/EPA]

Israeli soldiers have shot and killed a Palestinian man during an alleged stabbing attempt at a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank. 

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The man was shot dead on Sunday at the Huwwara checkpoint near Nablus, a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, after allegedly charging at Israeli soldiers holding a knife.

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Health identified the dead man as 31-year-old Rami Awartani.

An Israeli army spokesperson said a “Palestinian assailant armed with a knife exited his vehicle and charged toward soldiers” at the checkpoint.

“[Israeli] forces thwarted the attack and fired toward the assailant, resulting in his death,” the spokesperson told Al Jazeera by telephone on Sunday evening. 

Four Palestinians were detained at the same checkpoint on Saturday for allegedly carrying knives, the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported. Separately, four more Palestinians were arrested in areas across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, overnight on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society. 

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Unlawful killings

Since October 2015, Israeli forces and settlers have killed up to 220 Palestinians, including unarmed demonstrators, bystanders and attackers.

During the same period, Palestinian attackers killed at least 35 Israelis in stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks. 

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Human rights groups have accused Israeli forces of unlawful killings and using lethal force in situations where non-lethal measures would have been appropriate.

“Israel regularly uses excessive force against Palestinians, including children, causing death or injury, even when other measures could have been used,” the Ramallah-based Al-Haq rights group said in a report published in June.

Earlier this month, Israeli politicians vowed to expand settlements after a Palestinian teenager killed a 13-year-old Israeli in the settlement of Kiryat Arba in the southern West Bank.

The Israeli rights groups B’Tselem estimates there are 530,000 Israelis living in Jewish-only settlements – considered illegal under international law – across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

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Source: Al Jazeera