Israeli troops kill Palestinian who ran towards them, says army

He was shot dead by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers as he ran towards a military post they were guarding at the entrance to the village of Silwad.

“Forces identified a suspect running towards an [army] post in Silwad, northeast of Ramallah”, a spokeswoman said. “Upon the suspect’s advance, the forces shot the suspect, resulting in his death”.

Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances were reportedly prevented from having their medics from accessing the site.

On Wednesday, an Israeli soldier fatally shot a Palestinian motorist who the army said had stabbed him and thrown rocks from his auto at a military vehicle in the West Bank.

Official Palestinian medical sources identified the man as 38-year-old Iyad Zakariya Khamed, Haaretz reported.

According to reports, witnesses said that he was shot and critically injured while inside his vehicle, and was later pronounced dead.

Later investigations, however, dismissed earlier allegations, and showed that the Palestinian man, who is survived by three children, was unarmed at the time and had no weapons on him.

Most recently, a Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces Wednesday near Nablus after allegedly attempting to stab an Israeli soldier.

It is the scene of regular clashes between Palestinian stone throwers and troops.

A wave of violence since October has killed 222 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese, according to an AFP tally.

During the same period, Palestinian attackers killed at least 35 Israelis in stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks.