Young Palestinian martyred as rabid israeli forces fire at ‘suspect’ vehicle

A young Palestinian man has been killed and another wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on what they called a “suspect” vehicle in the occupied West Bank.

The incident took place near the Israeli settlement of Halamish to the north of the city of Ramallah on Tuesday, AFP reported.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its soldiers “perceived the vehicle as a threat and consequently fired towards it in order to stop it.”

The victim was taken to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported.

The fire also seriously wounded the driver’s sister, who was accompanying him in the vehicle.

The Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry identified the victim as 26-year-old Mohammed Mussa.

Also on Tuesday, the Palestinian Al-Quds TV said Israeli forces had arrested 26 Palestinians in fresh raids across the West Bank. The detainees were mostly youths under 25 years of age, according to the report.

The arrests triggered clashes between Palestinians and the forces. A number of Palestinian protesters were injured during the confrontation.

The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed a rise in tensions ever since Israel introduced restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.

More than 300 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since the beginning of October 2015.

Israeli authorities claim most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks. Others were shot dead in protests and clashes, while some were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The report comes a day after at least eight Palestinians lost their lives when Israeli fighter jets bombarded and destroyed a lifeline tunnel in the southern part of the besieged Gaza Strip.

The regime in Tel Aviv has stepped up its acts of aggression amid its anger over Palestinian reconciliation efforts, which have recently seen Hamas and Fatah parties reach a national unity deal aimed at ending their decade-long political rift.