Israeli military: Palestinian killed after stabbing attempt

The stabbings, vehicle rammings and other attacks by Palestinians targeting Israeli civilians are reprehensible. The NGO Al Shabaka reported in December that 599,901 Israeli settlers use six times more water than almost three million Palestinians living in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry yesterday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of undermining efforts to revive “serious negotiations” leading to ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Anadolu Agency reported.

This came shortly after 29-year-old Amjad Sukkari from the village of Jama’in, to the south of Nablus, was fatally shot by Israeli troops at the checkpoint, after he reportedly opened gunfire and injured three soldiers, including two seriously.

Also Sunday, the military said a Palestinian attempted to ram his vehicle into soldiers north of Jerusalem. The Palestinian was then shot dead by soldiers.

Palestinians in the Strip in need of urgent medical care can receive permission to be treated in Israeli hospitals.

This was the third incident in the past couple of months involving members of president Mahmoud Abbas’s security forces.

Palestinian ambulances sought to move toward the body, but were prevented from doing so by Israeli soldiers. His gun was registered to the Palestinian Authority.

About one week ago, the head of the PA’s General Intelligence Service, Majed Faraj, has faced a sharp wave of criticism from the Palestinian public, for announcing that the PA has halted 200 allegedly intended stab attacks by teenagers, in order to avoid more intensions and escalation.

Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in an emailed press statement that Hamas rejects Ban’s remarks on the tunnels of resistance, adding that “these tunnels are defensive to protect the Gaza Strip”.

Since October, Palestinian attacks, partly fueled by tensions over the freeze in peace talks, have killed 26 Israelis and a US citizen.

“After almost 50 years of occupation, after decades of waiting for the fulfillment of the Oslo promises, Palestinians are losing hope”, Ban told a United Nations committee on Palestinian rights on Wednesday.

At least 151 Palestinians have been killed by Israel fire since violence broke out in mid-September. Numerous attackers have been young people, including teenagers, who appear to have been acting on their own.

France said on Friday it will recognize a Palestinian state if a final push that Paris plans to lead for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians fails.