Again, Israeli Soldiers Shoot Dead Palestinians In Clashes In The West Bank

Israeli army illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Israel Police)

JAKARTA - Israeli soldiers shot dead another Palestinian in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, medics and militant groups said, in clashes that erupted after an arrest raid.

It was the second time in two days Israeli forces had killed a Palestinian in a late-night raid, following an arrest raid the day before.

The Israeli military said its troops had arrested two suspects in what it described as "counter-terrorism activities" in the city of Jenin. It went on to say, dozens of Palestinians threw stones and other types of firecrackers and opened fire on the soldiers, who responded with live ammunition.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack, saying the slain man, Ahmad Massad, had been executed swiftly.

Videos circulating on social media appear to show at least one Palestinian firing a rifle in the street as more gunfire rang out.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group said in a statement that Massad was one of its members and that he had been killed "while he was confronting the occupying forces".

Israel has stepped up attacks in the West Bank following a recent series of deadly Palestinian and Arab attacks, which killed 14 people in the country including three police officers.

Subsequent attacks on Palestinian towns have sparked deadly clashes, in which at least 17 Palestinians, including gunmen and civilians, have been killed by Israeli forces.

At the beginning of Ramadan 1443, a cool message came from two figures in the Middle East, when Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, wishing for peace and tranquility during Ramadan.

Minister Gantz wished him well into the blessed month of Ramadan in a phone call with President Abbas.

"Ramadan should be a month of peace and quiet, not a period marked by terror", Minister Gantz told President Abbas, citing The National News.

Last year during Ramadan, clashes flared between Israeli troops and Palestinians visiting east Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque compound, leading to a devastating 11-day conflict between Israel and Gaza Strip rulers Hamas.