Israeli police shoot dead Palestinian resisting arrest at point blank range in Nablus

Gulf Today Report

Israeli police shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said on Friday.

Israeli police said its border guards were approached by several suspects in the town of Huwara when one "pulled out a knife and stabbed one of them."

Residents and passersby said the Israeli border police officer had a scuffle with a Palestinian, purportedly in an attempt to arrest him.

When the Palestinian man resisted, the officer pulled out a gun and shot him at point blank range four times.

Israeli media said that the officer claimed the Palestinian tried to grab his gun.

Videos shared online showed the officer did not fire in the air, or use any other non-lethal measures that could have deescalated the situation.

Palestinian media reported the man was killed on the spot. Palestinian Red Crescent personnel said that Israeli forces prevented them from treating the injured man.

The shooting marks the ninth Palestinian killed since Tuesday in the West Bank, mostly in clashes with or raids by Israeli forces.

The recent surge in violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has alarmed the international community.

At least 145 Palestinians and 26 Israelis have been killed so far this year across the West Bank, Israel and the contested city of Jerusalem.