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Photos:
Israeli soldiers surround the body of a suspected Palestinian man who was reportedly shot dead by Israeli troops at the entrance to the West Bank village of Silwad on August 26, 2016. Credit: Abbas Momani, AFP.
Published by Haaretz
Iyad Zakariya Hamed, Palestinian shot dead by IDF forces after rushing towards soldiers in West Bank. August 26, 2016.
Published by Haaretz
Israeli soldiers secure scene after Palestinian shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in the village of Silwad, near the West Bank city Ramallah, Friday, Aug. 26, 2015. Credit: Majdi Mohammed, AP.
Published by Haaretz
Untitled illustrative photo of military roadblock: Published by Maan News
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RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A reportedly unarmed Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces at a military post near the illegal Israeli Ofra settlement at the western entrance to the town of Silwad in northeastern Ramallah on Friday, contradicting earlier reports by Israeli media that he had opened fire at soldiers.
An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers stationed at a military post in Silwad identified a suspect on foot running toward them.
The Israeli soldiers "shot towards the suspect, resulting in his death," the spokesperson said.
No injuries among Israeli soldiers were reported by the army.
Medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent who had arrived at the scene were reportedly prevented from accessing the site by Israeli forces.
Initial reports from Hebrew media, however, said the suspect had opened fire from inside a vehicle, and that a woman might have been inside the car with him.
According to reports, witnesses said that he was shot and critically injured while inside his vehicle, and was later pronounced dead.
When asked about the conflicting reports, and whether or not the suspect had been armed, the Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an the details of the incident were still being checked.
The suspect was later identified by local sources in the Ramallah area as 38-year-old Iyad Zakariya Hamed. He was married and a father of three.
Israeli news site Ynet quoted an anonymous Palestinian official as saying that Hamed suffered from mental illness and was not found to have any weapons on his person when searched, and no signs of gunfire were found on the guard post.
Most recently, a Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces Wednesday near Nablus after allegedly attempting to stab an Israeli soldier.
According to Ma'an documentation, Hamid is the 220nd Palestinian to be killed by Israelis since a wave of unrest spread across the occupied Palestinian territory and Israeli last October, many of whom were killed while allegedly carrying out attacks or attempting to carry out attacks on Israeli targets, or during clashes with Israeli forces during raids in Palestinian communities.
Some 32 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians during the same period.
Israel has come under repeated criticism for failing to carry out due process in response to alleged and actual attacks, particularly in regard to the apparent extrajudicial executions of Palestinians who no longer posed a threat when they were killed.
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Israeli army says Iyad Zakariya Hamed ran towards a group of soldiers when he was shot dead, but Palestinians claim he was in his car.
by Gili Cohen and Jack Khoury for Haaretz
Aug 26, 2016 7:29 PM
A Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers near the West Bank village of Silwad Friday morning. The circumstances of the incident, which took place near the settlement of Ofra, remained unclear. The Israel Defense Forces say the man ran toward a fortified army outpost, while eyewitnesses report that he was apparently shot while in a vehicle.
Official Palestinian medical sources identified the man as Iyad Zakariya Hamed, a resident of Silwad who locals said was married and a father of three children with special needs.
An initial investigation by the IDF stated that a group of soldiers was patrolling the Silwad area when they saw Hamed rush towards another group of soldier standing near the fortified military pillbox. The onlooking forces, from the ultra-Orthodox unit of the Kfir Brigade, fired warning shots, as is protocol. He was shot dead when continued to run toward the guard post.
According to army open-fire protocol, such a shooting is permitted if and only if a weapon is identified and the suspect poses a direct and immediate threat. It is currently unclear if such a weapon was found either before or after the shooting.
The army rejected Palestinian clams that Hamed was in a car. Nonetheless, according to army protocol, in incidents where no immediate threat is posed, suspects should not be fired upon. The army has yet to announce a legal investigation into the shooting, per the military's new policy to investigate lethal shootings of Palestinians by soldiers.
On Wednesday, an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in a stabbing attack near the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar. The suspected stabber, identified as 26-year-old Sami Abu Ourab from Qabatiyah, was shot dead at the scene.
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