WEST BANK (Dispatches) –
Zionist troops shot dead a Palestinian man in the West Bank city of Al-Khalil on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Nassim Abou Fouda, 26, succumbed to his wounds after being shot in the head in the Israeli-occupied city, the ministry said.
Palestinian media said Abu Fouda was in a vehicle in central Al-Khalil near the Ibrahimi Mosque when soldiers at a military checkpoint opened fire on him.
Over the past year, the occupying regime’s violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has been getting more deadly and frequent, prompting a rise in armed Palestinian resistance.
In recent days, tensions have been at a high, after a Zionist raid on Jenin refugee camp on Thursday killed nine Palestinians. The next day, a Palestinian killed seven Zionists in a settlement in occupied East Al-Quds.
The latest killing comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a Middle East trip in Cairo on Monday, which also took him to occupied Palestine.
“We’ve seen horrific terrorist attacks in the last couple of days that we condemn and deplore,” he told Saudi state broadcaster Al Arabiya on Monday. “The most important thing in the near term is to try to get some calm.”
Blinken landed in Tel Aviv to meet Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday afternoon, ahead of meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday.
At least 32 Palestinians have been killed by Zionist troops since the beginning of January.
Last year, more Palestinians were killed by Zionist troops in the West Bank and East Al-Quds than in any single calendar year since the Second Intifada.
At least 220 people died in the regime’s attacks across the occupied territories in 2022, including 48 children.
Of the total death toll, 167 were from the West Bank and East Al-Quds, and 53 were from the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also called on CIA director William Burns to pressure the Zionist regime to stop its “unilateral” measures against the Palestinians.
“It is important for an urgent intervention to pressure the new Zionist cabinet headed by Benjamin Netanyahu to stop its unilateral measures and abide by the signed agreements,” Abbas was quoted by the official news agency WAFA as saying.
“It is important to restore the political horizon based on international resolutions, to achieve security and stability for everyone in the region,” Abbas told Burns during their meeting held at the presidential headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Meanwhile, the military wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades, announced on Sunday that its fighters had downed and seized a Zionist army drone over the besieged Gaza Strip. The drone was brought down during the regime’s air strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip.
“Important, sensitive information has been taken from the drone,” said the brigades, which posted several pictures of the drone on social media. The occupation authorities, they added, have largely stayed quiet about the disappearance of the UAV.