Palestinian man killed by Israeli settler, army withholding body

Israeli settlers killed one Palestinian man and raided his village in the occupied West Bank on Friday in the latest wave of Israeli violence.

Abdel Karim Badih al-Sheikh, 21, died after a settler opened fire at him east of Qalqilya, near the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Shomron in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

عاجل| هيئة الشؤون المدنية تبلغ وزارة الصحة بارتقاء الشاب عبد الكريم بديع الشيخ ( 21عاماً)، عقب إطلاق مستوطن النار عليه قرب قلقيلية. pic.twitter.com/vRceUf1hmx

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 10, 2023

It is not clear if the settler was arrested.

Israeli forces then stormed the village of Sanniriya, where Sheikh is from, and raided his family home, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.

"I was at work. I got a call to come home because the [Israeli] army was there," Abdel Karim’s father, Badih, said in a video posted to social media.

He said the Israeli soldiers were keen on searching his phone and did not tell him that his son was killed.

#فلسطين | والد عبد الكريم بديع الشيخ، يتحدث عن تفاصيل اقتحام قوات الاحتلال لمنزله في قرية سينيريا قضاء قلقيلية. pic.twitter.com/aU9W5rIpsF

— غرب آسيا - عاجل (@WANbreaking) March 10, 2023

"They asked me things like when was the last time you spoke to him, saw him, then at the end asked me to identify him in the picture," he added, confirming that it was his son in the picture.

Sheikh’s relatives told Reuters that the Israeli military was still withholding his body.

On Thursday night, five people were wounded and a Palestinian suspect was killed after a shooting in Tel Aviv.

It is still not clear who was behind the attack and police have said they are investigating possible motives.

Hamas issued a statement shortly after the shooting, saying it came in response to the killing of three Palestinians earlier that day in the West Bank village of Jaba.

Another six Palestinians were killed earlier in the week in Jenin.

Friday’s killing brings the total number of Palestinian deaths by Israeli forces since the beginning of this year to at least 80, including more than a dozen minors.