Israeli settler kills young Palestinian man, injures journalist

An Israeli settler has killed a young Palestinian man and injured a journalist in the northern part of the occupied West Bank during a march in solidarity with hundreds of Palestinians hunger-striking inmates in Israeli jails.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that 23-year-old Mutaz Hussien Hilal Bani Shamsa succumbed to his wounds shortly after the unidentified settler stepped out of his car and opened live fire on him near the town of Huwwarah, located 9 kilometers south of Nablus, on Thursday afternoon.

Palestinian journalist, Majdi Eshtayya, was also injured during the shooting and was transferred to Rafidia Hospital, where doctors described his gunshot wounds as moderate.

Witnesses, requesting anonymity, said Israeli forces were quickly deployed in the area, which resulted in skirmishes between locals and Israeli forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties or detentions.

Israeli authorities later sealed off Huwwarah, preventing cars from entering or getting out of the town.

On May 12, Israeli military forces shot dead a 20-year-old Palestinian man, identified as Saba Abu Ubeid, in Nabi Salih, located 20 kilometers northwest of Ramallah, as dozens of protesters converged in the village to express their support for hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners and condemn the Tel Aviv regime’s suppressive measures against the inmates.

The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed new tensions ever since Israeli forces introduced restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.

More than 300 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the ongoing tensions since the beginning of October 2015.

The Tel Aviv regime has tried to change the demographic makeup of Jerusalem al-Quds over the past decades by constructing settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population. Palestinians say the Israeli measures are aimed at paving the way for the Judaization of the city.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a flashpoint Islamic site, which is also holy to Jews. The mosque is Islam’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.