Israeli forces have shot a Palestinian man who the army says fired on soldiers in the occupied West Bank, and the Palestinian health ministry reports the suspect has been killed.
The Israeli military said soldiers in Deir Nidham, a town west of Ramallah, stopped a suspicious motorist on Monday and questioned him, after which he exited the vehicle, threw a grenade at the soldiers and fired at them.
“The soldiers responded with live fire and neutralised the assailant,” it said in a statement.
The Palestinian health ministry confirmed the death of Bilal Qadah, 33, near Deir Nidham without giving details.
The Palestinian news outlet Wafa said Qadah lived in the village of Shuqba near Ramallah and was married with three children.
The Maan news agency reported that Israeli forces prevented Red Crescent ambulances from reaching Qadah after he was shot and no assistance was given as he lay bleeding on the ground.
The leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine praised the victim in a statement, saying that the “heroic martyr” had delivered a message of defiance to the occupying army, local media reported.
Violence in the West Bank, where the Palestinians seek to establish a state, has worsened over the past 15 months with stepped-up Israeli raids and assaults by Jewish settlers on Palestinian villages.
Israel launched its biggest operation in years in the West Bank last week in the flashpoint city of Jenin, which covers less than half a square kilometre (0.2sq miles) but houses 23,600 people. At least 12 Palestinians were killed, at least three of them children, in a ground and aerial offensive carried out by hundreds of soldiers.
It was followed by more bloodshed last week, including a shooting by a Palestinian assailant who killed an Israeli soldier. An Israeli military raid killed two fighters while a third Palestinian was killed during a demonstration later the same day in the central West Bank.
Israel has increased its raids into Palestinian areas since the spring of 2022 in response to a spate of Palestinian attacks against Israelis.
The violence has intensified this year, driving up the death toll on both sides. More than 150 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of the year while at least 26 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis.
