Israeli soldiers guard a Jewish settlement near the West Bank. Photo: EFE
A Palestinian woman was shot dead by Israeli soldiers Wednesday after approaching troops with a knife at a West Bank outpost. From Israel, the uniformed officers’ response was justified after describing the fact as “an attempted stabbing”.
In a statement, Israeli military authorities indicated that “a knife-wielding attacker advanced on a soldier carrying out routine security activity” near the Al Aroub refugee camp in the southern West Bank. That said, the troops “responded by firing live fire,” the statement added.
The woman, identified as Ghufran Harun Hamid Rasna and 31, died after receiving a bullet wound to the chest, specified the Palestinian Ministry of Health. According to the Palestinian Authority, one of the bullets entered the victim’s body under the left arm and exited from the right side.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Emergency Service reported that the army initially blocked its teams from accessing the site to provide medical treatment to the woman. “She was handed over to medical teams about 20 minutes later,” after which she was transferred to hospital, a spokesperson for this agency said.
The deceased was a former prisoner who was imprisoned for three months by Israel and was released in April this year.
In recent months, tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have increased dramatically in the context of a series of terrorist attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have left 19 dead.
The Israeli military has stepped up its activities in the West Bank in an attempt to repress the spiral of violence. At least 30 Palestinians have been killed since mid-March, many in clashes sparked by Israeli attacks. Some were gunmen involved in various terrorist attacks.
With information from EFE
Source: Clarin
