According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Thursday’s deadly incident brings the total number of Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces since October 1 to 149, including 27 minors and seven women.
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The spokesman said the USA was “deeply concerned” about Israel’s approval on Wednesday of expanding the existing boundary of the Gush Etzion settlement, nearby Jerusalem.
“Continued settlement activity and expansion raises honest questions about Israel’s long-term intentions and will only make achieving a two-state solution that much more hard”, Kirby continued.
The measure is widely used in the West Bank and was resumed in east Jerusalem in November after a five-year hiatus. They consider all Israeli construction there to be illegal – a position that is backed by the global community. The two Palestinians were shot by numerous soldiers using multiple live rounds, and died at the scene. In it, Ezra Nawi, a Jewish far-left activist from the Ta’ayush group, is heard speaking about four Palestinian real-estate sellers, whom Nawi said mistook him for a Jew interested in buying their property.
Saturday’s incident is the latest in more than three months of near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers that have killed 21 people, mostly in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming assaults. Palestinians say the Tel Aviv regime is seeking to change the status quo of the al-Aqsa mosque, a highly revered place for the Muslims across the world. Almost 20 Israelis have also been killed in the clashes.
Israel has been accusing the Palestinian authority of “inciting” the recent violence, while the Palestinians say it is a result of 49 years of Israeli control of their lands.
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According to a report from the Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters at Palestinians who were rallying at Beit ‘Einun junction following the funeral procession.
