Palestinian officials said Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank early Monday morning.
The military claimed the man tried to ram his car into the soldiers, but this could not be independently verified. They often accuse Israel says it follows strict rules of engagement and fires in life-threatening situations.
The military said soldiers were trying to arrest a suspect at the Jalazone refugee camp near the city of Ramallah when two Palestinians allegedly tried to run him over with a car. Soldiers opened fire on the car, the military said.
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The Palestinian Civil Affairs Department, which coordinates civil affairs with Israel, said the army had shot dead two men. Their identities were not immediately known.
Palestinians have called a general strike to protest the killings in the West Bank city of Ramallah, home to the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. Dozens of angry protesters marched through the streets, calling on shops to close while chanting “God is the greatest.”
Israel has carried out nightly arrest raids in the West Bank since the spring when a spate of Palestinian attacks on Israelis killed 19 people.
Israel says the operation, aimed at dismantling militant infrastructure and preventing future attacks, was forced into action due to the incompetence of the Palestinian security forces. Palestinians see nightly incursions into cities, villages and towns as a way to deepen the occupation of land Israel wants for its desired state and to undermine its security forces.
Israeli raids have killed nearly 100 Palestinians this year, the highest number since 2015. Israel said most of those killed were militants, but local youth protesting the attacks and some civilians also died in the violence. Hundreds have been arrested, many of them in so-called administrative detention, which Israel can hold without trial or prosecution.
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The raids have heightened tensions in the West Bank due to the recent increase in Palestinian shooting attacks against Israelis. They also highlight the growing disillusionment of young Palestinians with the close security coordination between Israel and internationally-backed Palestinian authorities working together to apprehend militants.
Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East War, and half a million Jewish settlers now live in about 130 settlements and other outposts among about three million Palestinians. increase. Palestinians want that territory, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, for a future state.