West Bank: Israeli forces shoot Palestinian near Bethlehem-area settlement
Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian man near the city of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank on Monday, local media reported.
Mahmoud Bello Thawabteh, a 27-year-old resident of the town of Beit Fajjar, was injured near Gush Etzion, a major settlement between the cities of Hebron and Bethlehem, official Palestinian Authority (PA) news agency Wafa reported.
In a statement on Twitter, the Israeli army claimed that Thawabteh had attempted to stab a soldier with a screwdriver at the Gush Etzion junction, adding that no Israelis had been wounded.
Footage on social media shows Thawabteh lying wounded on the ground, while Israeli forces push away a paramedic who had apparently approached to help him.
He was later hospitalised in Shaare Zedek medical centre in Jerusalem, where his condition remains unclear.
Last week, a Palestinian doctor was killed by Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem, the latter claiming he had attempted to carry out a stabbing attack.
Several Palestinians were also injured during protests in West Bank towns held in solidarity with prisoners who escaped the Israeli prison of Gilboa on 6 September.
Four of the six escapees were arrested over the weekend inside Israel.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
