Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian rioter in the al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah early Wednesday during violent clashes.
The army confirmed that the man attempted to kill soldiers by throwing an improvised explosive device at them during a sting operation to arrest wanted Hamas operative Allah Jalita.
The man was identified by Palestinian news agency Ma’an as 22-year-old Issa al-Qatari.
According to the IDF, some 50 Palestinian rioters surrounded security forces and attacked them with Molotov cocktails, rocks and burning tires.
Qatari threw an explosive directly at the soldiers, who were forced to return fire with live ammunition, killing Qatari.
An IDF spokesperson said that security forces “identified one Palestinian who tried to throw an explosive device at them so in response they opened fire.” The spokesperson added that Qatari was evacuated for medical treatment but later died as a result of his wounds.
Six people were arrested overnight throughout Judea and Samaria in surprise operations by the IDF. Upon arresting Jalita, forces discovered an M1 Carbine semi-automatic rifle, along with pipe bombs and dozens of bullets in his home. A second Hamas terrorist was arrested in Bethlehem.
The death of Qatari comes days after violent unrest by Palestinians in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. On Sunday, East Jerusalem teen Muhammad Abd al-Majid Sunuqrut, 16, was shot during violent clashes with Israeli security forces.
Police said Sunuqrut was shot in the leg with a sponge round while actively taking part in violent actions against Israeli security forces. While running away from security forces, he fell and hit his head. Sunuqrut was conscious when he was evacuated to a hospital for treatment.
Sunuqrut’s family allege that he was shot in the head at close range by the nonlethal sponge round.
Tensions further flared on Tuesday when a Palestinian inmate died while in Israeli prison. According to Israeli officials, the man hanged himself but Palestinians have rejected the claim, calling for hunger strikes in protest.
Violence in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria have dramatically risen since the death of Palestinian teen Muhammed Abu Khdeir in early July at the hands of three Israelis. A report on Monday by the Shin Bet revealed that the average amount of terror attacks in Jerusalem have grown exponentially from three in March to 152 in July and August.
