Swedish foreign minister calls for Israeli killings probe

Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday in separate incidents, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The 21-year-old was targeted as he and other Palestinians tried to block an Israeli search operation to find suspected gunmen on Beit Jala’s al-Sahl street. Palestinian well-wishers have raised more than US$60,000 (RM263,940) to rebuild the Halabi family’s West Bank home, demolished by Israel after one its sons killed two Israelis, organisers of the collection said on Tuesday.

The attacker arrived at the Beit Einun junction on Highway 60 with his auto, exited the vehicle and approached a patrol of Givati soldiers with a knife drawn.

The October 3 killings were among the first of the current wave of violence which to date has claimed the lives of 23 Israelis and an American in Palestinian attacks including stabbings, vehicle rammings and gunfire.

The driver of the vehicle was shot and wounded, and fled the scene, the spokeswoman added.

Over half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, including East al-Quds, in 1967.

Palestinian officials said he died.

Israeli settler Yosef Haim Ben-David, 31, is said to have led the attack on Abu Khdeir but his lawyers say he suffers from a mental illness and was not responsible for his actions at the time.

Earlier a 21-year-old was shot and killed during protests near Bethlehem. “A hit was confirmed”, a spokeswoman said.

The head of the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs says Israel is due to force-feed a Palestinian prisoner who has been on a hunger strike for weeks now. An Eritrean was also killed.

The security guard, who authorities said had acted reasonably in the heat of the shooting attack, was not charged.