Palestinian shot dead in West Bank by Israeli soldiers

A Palestinian man has been shot dead by Israeli troops after entering a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

The man was killed on Thursday morning in Barkan, west of the city of Nablus.

An Israeli army spokesman said soldiers identified two Palestinian intruders, one of whom they suspected to be armed.

After warning the men, the troops opened fire, killing one man while the other fled, said the spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

‘Joint investigation’

The spokesman said: “A night watch that was set by the IDF because of numerous attempts made to infiltrate the [Barkan] community in the past few weeks identified last night’s attempt.

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“The force identified the infiltrators, one of them suspected to be armed and opened fire. One of the infiltrators died as a result, and the other escaped.”

The spokesman added that Palestinian officials had agreed to carry out a “joint investigation” into the incident.

Meanwhile, the human rights group Amnesty International has called on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes and other buildings in the West Bank.

It says the Israeli army has destroyed 74 Palestinian-owned buildings in the Jordan Valley area this week, displacing more than a hundred people, half of whom are children.

Israeli officials said the buildings were in a closed military zone. But Palestinians say Israel has no right to close off parts of the West Bank in this way.

Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967, settling close to 500,000 Jews in more than 100 settlements. There are about 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank.

Jewish settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.BBC