A Palestinian man was shot dead by the Israeli army after he allegedly rammed his car into a group of soldiers on a road junction near the Gush Etzion settlement bloc north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) identified the driver as Ramzi Abu Yabis from the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem.
According to local Israeli authorities, three soldiers suffered light wounds, including one with a head injury, and were taken to a hospital.
The Israeli military said it was investigating reports of the incident, which took place near the Karmei Tzur illegal settlement, built on Palestinian lands belonging to the towns of Halhul and Beit Ummar.
According to a statement issued by the Israeli army, “A terrorist rammed three soldiers who were doing construction work on a road between Beit Ummar and El-Aroub.”
“One of the patrol soldiers fired and neutralised the terrorist,” the statement added.
Abu Yabis, 32, was the head of the nursing department at the Arab Rehabilitation Society in Bethlehem.
According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces prevented Abu Yabis from receiving medical aid after he was shot and proceeded to detain his body from inside a PRCS ambulance.
Israel has continued to expand settlements in the occupied territories, angering Palestinian leadership, who view this as a theft of their land and a major obstacle in peace efforts.
International law views West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories and considers all Jewish settlements on the land to be illegal.
