RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian medics said Israeli forces shot dead a 23-year-old man and wounded five others early Thursday during clashes in the occupied West Bank.
Ahmed Daraghmeh was mortally wounded when Palestinian militants exchanged fire with Israeli troops that entered the city of Nablus to escort Jewish worshippers to a site known as the biblical Joseph’s Tomb in the Palestinian city.
Sound of gunfire was heard in amateur videos that Palestinians recorded from their windows.
Daraghmeh was from the nearby town of Tubas and was a soccer player for the town’s local team. It was unclear whether he was taking part in the clashes.
The Israeli military said that troops escorted Israeli civilians to the shrine, and that Palestinians “hurled explosive devices and fired toward the soldiers," who responded with live fire. It said troops confirmed shooting a Palestinian.
Some 150 Palestinians and 31 Israelis have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, according to official figures, making 2022 the deadliest year since 2006.
Israel says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths and some people not involved in the violence have also been killed.
