Israel shoots dead Palestinian protester in Jerusalem

Israeli forces prevent ambulance from reaching 20-year-old Ali Shioukhi in Silwan neighbourhood, local media say.

Palestinian clash with the Israeli army in the West Bank
Protests by Palestinians throughout the Occupied West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip over the past year have resulted in the deaths of over 230 Palestinians and 32 Israelis [File: EPA]

Israeli soldiers have shot dead a Palestinian after clashes in the Silwan neighbourhood of Occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian officials said.

Ali Shioukhi, 20, was killed by security forces on Tuesday night, as the Israeli army was deployed in force across the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem to quell Palestinian dissent during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the officials said.

Israeli forces had raided Silwan late on Tuesday night before protests erupted.

The security forces then prevented an ambulance from reaching the scene after Shioukhi was shot in the chest, according to Palestinian media.

The Shioukhi family, along with dozens of other Palestinians in Silwan, opted to bury Ali’s body the same night, out of fear that the Israelis would try to keep it.

According to a statement issued by the Committee of Jerusalemite Families, Shioukhi was released from an Israeli prison earlier this year after serving a 15-month sentence.

Silwan protests

In Silwan, a neighbourhood of roughly 50,000 Palestinians in Occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian families are regularly evicted from their homes through a combination of Israeli court orders and military force. Their homes and apartment buildings are then demolished.

Residential buildings for Jewish settler families are often built in place of the destroyed Palestinian homes.

Palestinian residents have frequently clashed with the Israeli army in Silwan to protest the policy.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies