Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces over West Bank 'knife attack'

The Israeli army said it killed a Palestinian who carried out an attempted knife attack in the Gush Etzion area of the occupied West Bank.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab Staff & Agencies

31 January, 2021

All Jewish settlements in the West Bank are regarded as illegal. [Getty]

The Israeli army said it killed a Palestinian who allegedly carried out an attempted knife attack on Sunday in the Gush Etzion area of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces opened gunfire at the man, who was not yet identified, and killed him.

"A knife attack was reported at the Gush Etzion junction, south of Bethlehem," the army said in a statement. "The attacker was neutralised."

Gush Etzion is a bloc of two dozen Israeli settlements and outposts near Bethlehem, deemed illegal under international law.

Jewish settlers there are protected by heavily armed Israeli soldiers.

Read also: 'Decorating the cage' - How UAE plans to modernise Israeli checkpoints could entrench the occupation

There is frequent friction at the nearby junction, which has been the site of violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.

There are currently about 475,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank living in communities considered illegal by the international community, alongside some 2.8 million Palestinians.

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