WEST BANK (Dispatches) –
Zionist troops fatally shot a Palestinian man on Friday afternoon as Israeli media allege he carried out a car-ramming in the occupied territories that killed at least two settlers.
According to reports, the two Zionist settlers have been pronounced dead and five others were injured in the incident at a bus stop in the Ramot Alon settlement north of Al-Quds.
Palestinian media outlets have identified the Palestinian as Hussain Karaka, a 31-year-old resident of Bethlehem’s Dheisha refugee camp.
The suspected car-ramming comes amid increased violence by the occupying regime against Palestinians in the occupied territories, especially in the West Bank.
In January alone, the Zionist occupation forces killed 35 Palestinians, including 8 children, while 224 Palestinians, including 61 children, were killed in 2022.
On January 27, seven illegal settlers were killed and 10 others wounded in a shooting operation in occupied Al-Quds which came a day after Zionist troops raided the city of Jenin and its neighboring refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank, killing nine Palestinians in one of the deadliest raids in years.
In a separate shooting on January 28, two settlers were injured in occupied Al-Quds.
Zionist troops have ramped up attacks against Palestinian towns in recent months in a bid to stifle growing Palestinian resistance in occupied cities. Dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested. In January 2023 alone, at least 38 Palestinians, including five children, were killed.
Amid the increased violence, far-right Zionist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued an order this week for a five-fold increase in the number of new gun permits for settlers in occupied territories.
It is not strange to see settlers in occupied territories openly carrying pistols or off-duty soldiers carrying their service weapons, especially in settlements across the occupied territories. But the new order on guns will likely raise fears of more unbridled violence against Palestinians.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, warned the plans for arming civilians would only lead to more violence and bloodshed.
The occupying regime has killed hundreds of Palestinians who oppose the occupation of their lands by the regime since the 1967 war.