UPDATES WITH DETAILS, HEADLINE REVISED, ADDS CHANGES, EDITS THROUGH
By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) – A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli police in an alleged stabbing attack in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, according to medics and local media.
In a statement, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that its medics had received the body of a dead Palestinian from the Israeli side through the Container military checkpoint near East Jerusalem.
Israel’s Maariv newspaper said that a Palestinian man had allegedly attempted to stab soldiers with a knife at the Kiosk checkpoint near the town of Abu Dis in East Jerusalem.
According to the newspaper, Israeli police shot and “neutralized” the Palestinian man.
No injuries were reported among Israeli soldiers.
The Palestinian official news agency Wafa identified the Palestinian as Rami Taqatqa, 44, from the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.
The broadcaster, citing witnesses, said Israeli forces opened fire intensively at Taqatqa as he was passing through the Container checkpoint.
Following the fatal shooting, Israeli forces sealed off the entrances to the neighboring towns of Al-Eizariya, Abu Dis, and Al-Sawahreh, Wafa said.
Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip that killed nearly 35,400 people following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
At least 506 Palestinians have since been killed and thousands injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
* Writing by Ikram Kouachi