Palestinian shot and killed after stabbing Israeli policeman

Ibrahim Halsa stabbed an Israeli police officer in occupied West Bank before he was shot and killed.

Scene of stabbing and ramming attack in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
Palestinian local media reported that Halsa's village and home were raided by Israeli forces, and his parents were taken away for interrogation [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces after he stabbed an Israeli police officer at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank.

The man was identified by the Palestinian Authority (PA) as Ibrahim Halsa, 25, from the village of Sawahra. His body has been detained by Israeli forces. 

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the attack took place near the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim, near occupied East Jerusalem, and a sweep of the area found a pipe bomb at the scene. The Israeli policeman was moderately wounded, he said.

Video footage of the incident shows a white van veering off a road onto the curb and ramming into the police officer by the Container Checkpoint, hurtling him several feet back. Halsa can then be seen jumping out of the vehicle with what looks like a pair of scissors and lunging at the injured policeman.

A scuffle ensues with the policeman retreating and the assailant giving chase before other officers on the scene pursue him off-camera. Police said the other officers on the scene eventually shot and killed Halsa.

Palestinian local media reported that Halsa’s village and home were raided by Israeli forces, and his parents were taken away for interrogation.

Such Palestinian attacks on Israeli police and military positions in the occupied West Bank have been a frequent occurrence in recent years but have tapered off significantly in recent months, especially since the outbreak of the coronavirus in the region pushed many indoors.

Palestinian prisoner dies

Meanwhile, a 23-year-old Palestinian died after losing consciousness in an Israeli jail on Tuesday night.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), Nour al-Barghouthi, who was held in Section 25 of the Ketziot/Naqab prison, fainted in the toilet. The Israeli Prison Service, PPS said, waited more than half an hour before attempting to revive al-Barghouthi, after a verbal commotion caused by the other Palestinian prisoners.

The PPS said it held the Israeli Prison Service fully responsible for his death, pointing to its inaction and “deliberate delay in saving Barghouthi’s life”, and accused Israeli authorities of its continued implementation of the “slow death policy”.

Israeli media reported that al-Barghouthi, who had served four years of his eight-year sentence, was found unconscious in his cell on Tuesday night and was transferred to a hospital overnight, where he passed away.

Al-Barghouthi’s death raised the number of Palestinian prisoners to die within Israeli jails since 1967 to 223.

Israeli authorities have refused to release the bodies of five prisoners who died in detention in the past: Anis Dawla, who died in Ashelon prison in 1980, Aziz Owaisat, who died in 2018, Faris Baroud, Nasrat Taqatqa, and Bassam al-Sayeh who all died last year.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies