Israeli settlers kill Palestinian man in West Bank

Israeli settlers killed a Palestinian near a settlement in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Sunday, with the Israeli military alleging he was armed.

Karam Ali Ahmad Salman, 18, was shot dead by "the Israeli occupation near the settlement of 'Kedumim'," the Palestinian health ministry reported.

استشهاد الشاب كرم علي أحمد سلمان من قرية قوصين قضاء نابلس برصاص الاحتلال قرب مستوطنة كدوميم شرق قلقيلية. pic.twitter.com/9XoiAvtCMb

— أدهم أبو سلمية #غزة 🇵🇸 (@adham922) January 29, 2023

Israel's army said the settlers shot a person "armed with a handgun" near the settlement in the northern West Bank. Israeli authorities often claim that Palestinians killed were armed or perpetrating, however these claims are often disputed or later proven false.

The Kedumim settlement is illegal and was built on privately-owned Palestinian land.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War and settlements are regarded as illegal under international law.

Salman is one of at least 34 Palestinians killed in the West Bank this month alone, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.

The Palestinian health ministry also announced on Sunday a 24-year-old man, Omar Tariq Ali al-Saadi, died from wounds sustained Thursday during an Israeli raid on Jenin.

ارتقاء الجريح عمر طارق علي السعدي متأثراً بإصابته برصاص الاح..تلال الحي في البطن الخميس الماضي في جنين pic.twitter.com/d7I7syVzGr

— قناة عودة الفضائية (@Awdah_TV) January 29, 2023

Nine other Palestinians had been killed in Jenin on Thursday in the deadliest West Bank raid by Israeli forces in nearly two decades.

Separately on Sunday, a Jerusalem hospital spokeswoman said a Palestinian had died after being wounded by Israeli forces last week.

The Palestinian died on Friday night, the Shaare Zedek hospital spokeswoman told AFP, without immediately providing the person's name or age.

A Palestinian gunman killed seven people Friday outside a synagogue in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem Friday evening. 

Following the attack, Israel's far-right government announced a slew of measures, including moves to arm settlers and expel Palestinians.

The latest violence follows a surge in killings last year, which the UN said was the deadliest for Palestinians since at least 2005.

Nearly 90 percent of all fatalities in Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israeli towns and settlements are on the Palestinian side, according to AFP figures.