A Palestinian man was shot dead by an Israeli during a settler attack on a village in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday evening. A relative said Alaa Khalid Subeih, 28, was killed as he tried to defend a greenhouse from the settlers in Tayasir in the northern West Bank. A senior UN official also said he was killed by a settler.
The Israeli military claimed he was shot by an off-duty soldier and accused him of throwing stones. Tayasir has been a focus of recent violence by settlers, and Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law.
This killing comes amid a backdrop of increasing warnings from ex-security chiefs about what they describe as government-sponsored Jewish terrorism in the West Bank, accompanied by the Israeli government's reported approval of dozens of new settlements. Tayasir is located in an area that is supposed to be under the security control of the Palestinian Authority.
Last month, a CNN crew covering violence in the area was detained by Israeli soldiers, highlighting the ongoing tensions and difficulties for media coverage. Relatives of Alaa highlighted his character, describing him as one of the finest young men in the village. His body has reportedly not been returned to his family, adding to their grief.
The UN has reported a rise in settler violence against Palestinians, with hundreds of incidents recorded in the first months of this year. A witness from the Palestinian Red Crescent stated that a rescue team was barred from accessing the village, and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have not offered clarity on their response to the incident. In their statements, differing accounts were provided regarding Alaa’s actions during the incident, with implications of him being labeled either a terrorist or a civilian based on language used in different contexts. The IDF stated that their investigations are ongoing as the community mourns another loss to violence.
The Israeli military claimed he was shot by an off-duty soldier and accused him of throwing stones. Tayasir has been a focus of recent violence by settlers, and Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law.
This killing comes amid a backdrop of increasing warnings from ex-security chiefs about what they describe as government-sponsored Jewish terrorism in the West Bank, accompanied by the Israeli government's reported approval of dozens of new settlements. Tayasir is located in an area that is supposed to be under the security control of the Palestinian Authority.
Last month, a CNN crew covering violence in the area was detained by Israeli soldiers, highlighting the ongoing tensions and difficulties for media coverage. Relatives of Alaa highlighted his character, describing him as one of the finest young men in the village. His body has reportedly not been returned to his family, adding to their grief.
The UN has reported a rise in settler violence against Palestinians, with hundreds of incidents recorded in the first months of this year. A witness from the Palestinian Red Crescent stated that a rescue team was barred from accessing the village, and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have not offered clarity on their response to the incident. In their statements, differing accounts were provided regarding Alaa’s actions during the incident, with implications of him being labeled either a terrorist or a civilian based on language used in different contexts. The IDF stated that their investigations are ongoing as the community mourns another loss to violence.
