A Palestinian man has been shot dead in the occupied West Bank in the latest incident of violence as it surges in the territory where the number of those killed by the Israeli army this month has risen to 18, including four children.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Saturday that 42-year-old Tariq Maali was shot in the city of Ramallah, adding he was killed “after the occupation [Israeli forces] opened fire on him” near the Palestinian village of Kafr Nama.
The Israeli army released security camera footage that showed an individual running through the entrance gate of the Jewish Sde Efraim farm and being shot by an Israeli as he tries to advance further.
It added that the man “was neutralised” after attempting to stab an Israeli settler.
The killing follows intensified near-daily Israeli army raids that have persisted for close to a year under the banner of crushing limited Palestinian armed resistance.
On Thursday, Jawad Fareed Bawaqneh, a 57-year-old father of six and teacher at a local school, was killed in the Jenin refugee camp, local journalists told Al Jazeera. Adham Jabareen, a 28-year-old fighter with the Jenin Brigades armed resistance group, was also shot dead.
The inauguration in December of the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, has sparked fears of a military escalation in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War.
The majority of the 18 Palestinians killed this year were shot dead by Israeli forces.
The violence this month adds to a toll that saw more than 150 Palestinians killed in the West Bank last year, the highest annual toll since United Nations records began in 2005.
The UN said 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2006. More than 30 children were among the 171 Palestinians killed in the region last year, and at least 9,000 other Palestinians were injured.
