– According to Israeli army’s version of events, the Palestinians have been shot dead for allegedly attempting to stab soldiers in southern occupied West Bank.
Advertisement
Gush Etzion is a settlement bloc south of Jerusalem, and its junction has been a focal point in three months of Palestinian attacks targeting Israeli security forces and civilians.
The Gush Etzion assailants were relatives of Ahmed Yusef Kawazba, an 18-year-old Palestinian killed after stabbing and lightly wounding an Israeli soldier, also at the Gush Etzion junction, the Post reported, citing Maariv.
On the other hand, the Palestinian Red Crescent said the Israeli army did not allow medics to provide assistance to the three Palestinians, who were left to bleed to death.
He was later identified as Khalil Shalalda, 16, from Sair village, northeast of Hebron.
The BBC reports that the attack is the latest in a wave of attacks, mainly stabbings, by Palestinians on Israelis since the start of October, with twenty-two Israelis killed in attacks including stabbings, auto rammings and shootings since that time.
On Friday morning the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) closed all entrances leading to Seir town, north of Hebron, before declaring it a closed military zone.
Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Negotiations Affairs Department slammed what it termed Israel’s “systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinians” in Silwan.
Advertisement
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November vowed to expedite punitive house demolitions in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which he said were “one of the most efficient tools” in discouraging Palestinian attacks.
