Israeli forces chase and kill Palestinian near Ramallah

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian on Wednesday in the town of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, Wednesday in the occupied West Bank.

Local sources confirmed that the man was 32 years old Mujahed Hamed, from Silwad, a neighbouring town to Deir Dibwan, where he was killed. Hamed's body was withheld by Israeli forces, sources confirmed.

The Israeli public broadcaster 'Kan' said that Israeli forces killed Hamed after a pursuit. According to Israeli reports, Hamed is thought to have conducted several shootings at Israeli forces in the east Ramallah region in the past few days.

BREAKING: 32-year-old Palestinian man Mojahed Alnajjar was shot and murdered by Israeli occupation forces in Silwad town, east of Ramallah. pic.twitter.com/M6H5vhDs5P

— V PALESTINE 🇵🇸 (@V_Palestine20) December 7, 2022

"Mujahed was a former prisoner in the occupation jails and was father to one child," Raed Hamed, mayor of Silwad and a relative of Hamed told The New Arab.

"He had spent nine years in the occupation jails, including two years under administrative detention, without charges," said the mayor.

In September 2020, Israeli forces arrested Hamed at his home in Silwad, after breaking into the house before dawn and damaging its contents. He was then placed under an administrative detention order of six months, without charges.

Israeli forces then renewed Hamed's detention order four times, which lead him to spend a total of 20 months in Israeli jails without charges.

WATCH: Israeli occupation forces obstruct the work of Palestinian journalists and prevent them from covering the Israeli raid on Silwad town in northern the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. pic.twitter.com/qPMcKfmLL5

— Al-Jarmaq News (@Aljarmaqnetnews) December 7, 2022

In July 2021, Hamed started an open hunger strike to protest his detention without charges, which lasted 42 days.
Hamed ended his hunger strike after a commitment was made by Israeli authorities not to renew his detention order. However, his detention was renewed a fifth time for an additional four months, before he was released.

Israeli reports claimed that Hamed was responsible for several shootings at Israeli forces last week, near the settlement of Ofra, built on the lands of his hometown Silwad.

Israeli forces responded to the shootings in previous days by blocking roads between the eastern Ramallah region, including some 11 villages, and the city of Ramallah.

With the killing of Mujahed Hamed, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of 2022 rises to 213.

In early November, the UN said that 2022 was probably the deadliest year for Palestinians since it started to document the killings of Palestinians in 2005.