The parents of two Palestinian siblings gunned down at a West Bank checkpoint say Israeli troops killed them without cause.
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The pair approached security forces, and when they were ordered to stop, the woman pulled a knife out of her bag and waved it at an officer near her, police said.
Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri said five Israelis including a minor were evacuated by police after violating visitation rules.
Israeli police said the two ignored several orders to stop.
An eyewitness told Palestine’s Ma’an news agency that Israeli forces fired over 15 rounds at the woman’s body.
However, according to Danon, one of the main obstacles to peace is Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ refusal to join his counterpart, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the negotiating table.
Two knives and a Leatherman-style multi-tool that a Palestinian couple allegedly planned to use to attack Border Police officers at the Qalandiya border crossing on April 27, 2016.
He added that Jewish settlement building in the West Bank would be stepped up ahead of the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, when Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian authorities identified the two dead as Maram Abu Ismail, 23, and her 16-year-old brother, Ibrahim Taha, and said they had been en route to Jerusalem for a medical appointment. “When they kept advancing … the officers neutralised the terrorists”, a police statement alleged.
In the past six months, Israeli forces have killed at least 193 Palestinians, 130 of whom Israel said were assailants.
The compound, known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa mosque and to Jews as the Temple Mount, is holy to both religions.
According to Israeli officials, the number attacks on Israelis by Palestinians dropped by 75% in March compared with October, the worst month of violence during the recent wave.
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The Jewish advocacy group AJC: Global Jewish Advocacy has criticized Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for remarks comparing Baltimore’s socioeconomic conditions to the situation of Palestinians living in the West Bank.
