JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli forces shot a Palestinian who ran toward them with a knife near a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on Friday, Israel’s defense ministry said, and Palestinian officials said he died of his injury.
Israel’s defense ministry said a Palestinian man ran toward a checkpoint between Israel and the central West Bank city of Tulkarem “with a knife in hand, with the apparent intention of attacking security personnel”.
The ministry said in a statement that one of the forces called on the attacker to stop, “and upon his failure to do so … fired toward and neutralized” him.
The Palestinian health ministry identified the individual as a Palestinian national and said he had died of his injuries. Palestinian officials did not immediately provide further details.
Israel’s defense ministry circulated a photo of what it said was the scene of the incident. A black plastic sheet, which ministry spokeswoman Betty Ilovici said was laid over the Palestinian’s body, could be seen against the roadside with the checkpoint meters away in the background.
The West Bank has seen simmering violence since US-sponsored peace talks with Israel broke down in 2014.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians seek to establish a state there and in the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Reporting by Rami Ayyub in Jerusalem and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Giles Elgood
