Israeli troops shoot settler suspected of attempted knife attack on soldiers
Israeli forces shot and wounded a settler in the occupied West Bank on Monday after suspecting him of attempting a knife attack on soldiers.
According to Israeli media, the man, in his early 20s, was shot at a petrol station in the settlement of Kedumim, near the Palestinian city of Qalqilya.
Reports said he is suspected of having mental health issues.
Israeli forces operate under an open-fire policy against Palestinians in the West Bank, which allows the use of lethal force even in cases of suspected attacks.
Israeli rights group B’Tselem says the policy has become increasingly “permissive and reckless” since October 2023.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since then, including 217 children.
According to Israeli Channel 14, a solider shot the settler on Monday after he brandished a knife at troops.
The Israeli army said the shots were fired to “eliminate the threat” from an “attempted stabbing attack”.
It said the man was “armed with a knife” and that “circumstances of the incident are under review”.
Rights groups and activists have long condemned the Israeli army for its shoot to kill policy targeting Palestinians in the West Bank.
Last month, Israeli forces executed two unarmed Palestinians at point-blank range after they surrendered in the West Bank city of Jenin.
The killings were captured on video, which showed the two men emerging from a building with their arms raised and their shirts lifted, clearly indicating they were unarmed and posed no threat to the soldiers.
The United Nations said the killing of the two men appeared to be a “summary execution”, which is a war crime under the Geneva Convention and international law.
