West Bank, (The Palestine Information Centre) Israeli regime forces have shot and killed a young Palestinian man in an area of the West Bank over an alleged shooting attack against settlers, amid heightened tensions in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The official Palestinian WAFA news agency reported that the shooting took place outside a shopping mall in the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’ ale Adumim east of occupied al-Quds on Tuesday.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the victim — identified as 20-year-old Mohammad Suleiman Mazara — was killed by Israeli gunfire.
Israel’s Channel 12 said the young Palestinian man was shot after opening fire at Israeli settlers in the area. Israeli emergency services said one of the five Israelis was in a serious condition.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said the attack was a response to Israeli forces who stormed and desecrated the al-Aqsa mosque last week.
Hamas has warned that the movement will never allow the Israeli regime to execute its “evil plans” of taking control of al-Aqsa by holding provocative marches or repeatedly attacking the holy site.
It has also been made clear that the Israeli regime’s policy of Judiazation will not change the Islamic character of the al-Aqsa Mosque and al-Quds.
Illegal settler incursions under police protection to the al-Aqsa Mosque have been on the rise in recent years, during which many Palestinians have been injured, killed, or arrested.
Palestinians maintain that the Israeli regime is systematically working to Judaize al-Quds, where al-Aqsa Mosque is located, and obliterate its Arab and Islamic identity.
Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank in recent months, with the Israeli military carrying out near-nightly raids and the Palestinians responding with retaliatory attacks.
Human rights groups have documented numerous cases of Israeli soldiers gunning down peaceful Palestinian protesters across the occupied territories. Palestinians stress that such cases must be taken to international courts and Israelis must be held accountable for their atrocities.