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Odai al Darawish, 21, was trying to cross into Israel to find work, his family said.

By Reuters


Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian who was trying to cross a security barrier to enter Israel from the occupied West Bank on Saturday.

Odai al Darawish, 21, was trying to cross into Israel to find work, his family said. He was taken to a hospital in Israel where he was pronounced dead, they said.

An Israeli military spokesman said soldiers had opened fire when they saw a man trying to cross the barrier in an area south of the West Bank city of Hebron.

"The soldiers followed the rules of engagement and fired towards his legs," the spokesman said.

Hospital officials were not available for comment. Israel says the security barrier - a network of fences interspersed with concrete walls and projected to be 720 km (450 miles) long when complete - has prevented Palestinian suicide bombers entering Israel from the West Bank.

Palestinians say it is a way to grab land because it encroaches onto occupied territory, and the International Court of Justice has ruled it illegal.

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HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian worker on Saturday who was attempting to cross into Israel, Israeli medical sources said.

Uday Kamil Muhammad Darwish, 21, was attempting to cross the border in an area south of Hebron when he spotted an Israeli military patrol and began to run away.

Darwish, from Dura, worked in Israel but did not have a permit.

He was shot in the back by Israeli soldiers and evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israeli medical sources said.

An Israeli army spokesman told Ma'an that "a man attempted to infiltrate Israel through its security fence. Soldiers at the scene acted in accordance with IDF rules of engagement and fired at his legs. The incident is currently being investigated."

Initial reports said that Darwish was injured after falling over while trying to escape.