Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Sept 6: A 57-year-old Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces at a military checkpoint in the northern West Bank, according to Israeli military and Palestinian sources.

The Israeli army claimed the man, identified as a "terrorist," approached soldiers near the village of Burin, southwest of Nablus, and threw a suspicious object. He allegedly ignored commands to stop, prompting soldiers to open fire under what the military described as a “standard arrest procedure.” No Israeli personnel were injured in the incident, according to the military statement reported by Xinhua news agency.

Palestine’s official WAFA news agency identified the deceased as Ahmed Abdel Fattah Shahadeh, a resident of the town of Urif in the Nablus Governorate. The shooting reportedly occurred near the Al-Murabba'a checkpoint.

Ahmed Ameed, director of the Red Crescent Ambulance and Emergency Centre in Nablus, stated that emergency responders were dispatched to the scene but were blocked by Israeli soldiers from reaching Shahadeh.

In a separate development, the Israeli army announced the arrest of 70 Palestinians over the past week in operations across several West Bank villages. Troops reportedly seized firearms, including rifles and pistols, and neutralized explosive devices during these raids.

The incident comes amid mounting tension in the occupied West Bank, where over 720,000 Israeli settlers now live in settlements across the region and East Jerusalem—areas also home to approximately 3.3 million Palestinians. Israel captured these territories during the 1967 Middle East war, and its ongoing settlement expansion is widely viewed as illegal under international law.

According to the Palestinian Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC), Palestinians face daily restrictions and abuses at the hands of Israeli forces and settlers. The commission reports there are currently 898 Israeli checkpoints and barriers throughout the West Bank, including more than 156 new iron gates installed since October 2023.

In August alone, the CWRC documented 1,613 violations by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinians and their property, with 431 incidents attributed to settlers.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza conflict on October 7, 2023, human rights groups and Palestinian officials say that settlement expansion, house demolitions, and forced displacement have intensified significantly across the West Bank.

Palestinian authorities warn that these escalating measures are eroding any remaining prospects for a two-state solution, further entrenching the occupation and deepening the humanitarian crisis in the region.