A reportedly unarmed Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces at a military post near the illegal Israeli Ofra settlement at the western entrance to the town of Silwad in northeastern Ramallah on Friday, contradicting earlier reports by Israeli media that he had opened fire at soldiers.
According to Israeli media, unarmed Palestinian was killed after he approached an Israeli checkpoint at the entrance of Silwad village northeast of Ramallah city, Anadolu Agency reported.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency the Israeli army had prevented Palestinian rescuers from treating the victim.
Palestinian Health Ministry, for its part, said mentally disabled Iyad Hammed, 38, a father of three, was killed after four bullets struck his body.
An Israeli army spokesperson said that Israeli soldiers stationed at a military post in Silwad identified a suspect on foot running toward them.
The Israeli soldiers “shot towards the suspect, resulting in his death,” the spokesperson said.
No injuries among Israeli soldiers were reported by the army.
Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances reportedly prevented their medics from accessing the site.
Initial reports from Hebrew media, however, said the suspect had opened fire from inside a vehicle, and that a woman might have been inside the car with him.
According to reports, witnesses said that he was shot and critically injured while inside his vehicle, and was later pronounced dead.
When asked about the conflicting reports, and whether or not the suspect had been armed, the Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an the details of the incident were still being checked.
Most recently, a Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces Wednesday near Nablus after allegedly attempting to stab an Israeli soldier.
According said documentation, Hamid is the 220nd Palestinian to be killed by Israelis since a wave of unrest spread across the occupied Palestinian territory and Israeli last October, many of whom were killed while allegedly carrying out attacks or attempting to carry out attacks on Israeli targets, or during clashes with Israeli forces during raids in Palestinian communities.
Some 32 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians during the same period.
Israel has come under repeated criticism for failing to carry out due process in response to alleged and actual attacks, particularly in regard to the apparent extrajudicial executions of Palestinians who no longer posed a threat when they were killed.
According to Palestinian figures, close to 230 Palestinians have been killed since the current uptick in Israeli-Palestinian violence began last October.
