NABLUS – Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian man on Saturday as he ran toward a checkpoint in the West Bank shouting Islamic slogans, Palestinian and Israeli officials said.
Khaldun Samudi was hit by several bullets as he was running toward an Israeli checkpoint east of Nablus shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest), Palestinian witnesses told AFP. Palestinian security officials said he was a member of the Islamic Jihad in Jenin, in the northern West Bank, referring to the radical group that advocates an armed struggle against Israel.
The Israeli military confirmed later that its forces shot and killed Samudi as he ran towards the checkpoint “carrying two explosive devices and a knife.”
The Palestinian had emerged from a taxi and headed towards soldiers manning the checkpoint, shouting “God is greatest,” according to a military spokesman.
He ignored orders to stop before the troops opened fire on him, the spokesman said, adding the military then sent in bomb disposal experts to defuse the explosive devices he was carrying. The body of a naked man was seen being taken away from the scene in an ambulance. Last Sunday another Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli troops at the same checkpoint.
Tensions have been running high in the West Bank between Israelis and Palestinians following violent deaths in the occupied territory. On Friday, Israeli troops in Hebron shot dead an elderly Palestinian civilian in a case of mistaken identity as they searched for a Hamas prisoner freed a day earlier by the Palestinian authorities.
A week ago a Palestinian woman, Jawaher Abu Rahma, died after inhaling massive amounts of tear gas fired by Israeli troops at a demonstration against Israel’s separation barrier, Israeli and Palestinian activists said.
The Israeli army cast doubt on the authenticity of that version and ordered an investigation.
