Israeli forces kill Palestinian in West Bank demolition dispute

Clashes broke out in the West Bank village of Kfar Akab after locals protested Israeli forces' planned demolition of a house in the area.
2 min read
22 December, 2016
Israeli soldiers on patrol in Kafr Aqab, May 2016 [Getty]
A Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli forces on Thursday morning during the demolition of a Palestinian home in the West Bank village of Kfar Akab, north of Jerusalem.

Ahmed Osman al-Kharoubi, 19, was rushed to Ramallah hospital but died of bullet wounds sustained during the incident, according to WAFA, the news agency of the Palestinian National Authority.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli forces fired on protesters demonstrating against the demolition, with an Israeli spokesman stating that al-Kharoubi was shot after he "threw an explosive on troops."

Translation: Farewell, martyr Ahmed al-Kharoubi, inside the Ramallah hospital a little while ago, who died from Israeli occupation bullets during clashes in Kafr Aqab in Jerusalem at dawn today

The soldiers were carrying out a demolition on the home of Abu Sabih Misbah, a former local resident, who was shot dead on October 9 by Israeli forces near Israel’s Police headquarters in Jerusalem after killing an Israeli Special Patrol officer and a former member of the Knesset. Six others were injured in the attack.

Earlier this week a High Court in Israel threw out a petition presented by Misbah’s family asking the Israeli government to stop the demolition of the family home.

Israel is regularly criticised by rights groups for its practice of demolishing Palestinian homes as a punitive measure.

According to B’Tselem, an Israeli rights groups focused on raising awareness of human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, more Palestinian homes were demolished in the occupied territories in the first half of 2016 than in all of 2015.

Al-Kharoubi’s death in Kfar Akab comes on the same day that the UN Security Council is set to meet to vote on a draft resolution demanding that Israel end its ongoing building of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The UN and most countries view Israel’s settlements in the West Bank as illegal, and imperil the viability of a two-state solution. However, the US has previously vetoed resolutions condemning Israeli settlements, notably in 2011. The vote is scheduled to take place at 20:00 GMT.