Palestinian man shot dead by Israeli forces

A Palestinian man in the port city of Ashkelon was shot dead by the Israeli forces, who alleged that he had attempted to stab a police officer with a kitchen knife.

As per the reports, the incident took place on Tuesday morning when Israeli police entered a work site to check whether the Palestinians there had permits.

Witnesses said that the man did not pose any threat and that the Israeli police were acting in a very violent way.

In Jenin, tensions have heightened as Israeli forces round up Palestinians after a man from the city shot and killed three people in Tel Aviv last week.

The man killed on Tuesday was reportedly in his 40s and his name was not immediately known.

Israeli police said an officer began checking a person who aroused his suspicion when “the man pulled out a knife and attacked the officer”.

The officer “responded quickly, fired and neutralised the suspect, whose death was declared on site”, police said. 

Since late March, Israeli forces have killed at least 15 Palestinians.

On Sunday, Israeli police said security forces killed a Palestinian woman who stabbed and lightly wounded a policeman in the centre of Hebron, where about 1,000 Jewish people live under heavy military protection in illegal settlements among 200,000 Palestinians.

The same day, the Israeli army shot and killed an unarmed Palestinian woman who they said failed to heed warning shots near the occupied West Bank town of Bethlehem.

It is worthy to note that the Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has granted “all security forces full freedom” of operations. He also announced that a major crossing in the north of the West Bank near Jenin would be closed indefinitely.

“Resistance operations are a natural response to Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people,” senior Hamas official Mushir al-Masri said.

Last year, Israel bombarded Gaza for 11 days after protests and confrontations during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. At least 245 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children. Twelve people in Israel were also killed.