Israeli forces have killed a 53-year-old Palestinian man near the separation barrier in Qalqilya city in the north of the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The victim, identified as Nabil Ahmed Ghanem by the Palestinian health ministry, was shot dead on Sunday near the village of Jaljulia. He was a resident of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Sunday’s shooting was a “field execution”.
Wafa reported that Ghanem has been shot at while trying to cross the separation barrier. He was among the tens of thousands of West Bank Palestinians who regularly seek work in Israel.
An Israeli army spokesperson said forces had shot at “a suspect who vandalised the security fence”, which the Palestinians and many rights organisations have dubbed an “apartheid wall”.
The International Court of Justice at The Hague ordered Israel to tear the wall down after ruling it illegal. Nevertheless, the wall, which severely restricts Palestinian movements, remains.
Every day around 165,000 Palestinians cross with permits into Israel for work, according to the Palestinian workers union. Some have permits to work in Israel while others seek to cross without authorisation.
It is unclear whether Ghanem had the documents required to cross the checkpoints.
His body was taken by the Israeli authorities to the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, Israel.
Spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence
Ghanem’s killing comes amid a spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence.
More than 60 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces this year, many of them in raids, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
At least 19 people have been killed in Israel in attacks by Palestinian individuals since March.
Separately, clashes broke out on Sunday near a military checkpoint southwest of Tulkarm, in the northwest of the occupied West Bank. Security sources told Wafa that five Palestinians were arrested.
The Israeli forces also arrested 13 Palestinians after storming the town of Bartaa, southwest of Jenin.
The director of the Prisoners’ Club in Jenin, Montaser Sammour, told Wafa the raid had targeted a residential building.
Last month, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli forces while covering a raid in Jenin.
Members of the international community have condemned her murder and continue to call for an independent investigation.
Shireen was with Al Jazeera for 25 years, covering the story of the Israeli occupation.
