Israeli forces kill 3 Palestinians, injure at least 78 others in clashes

Israeli forces kill 3 Palestinians, injure at least 78 others in clashes

Soldiers open fire on protesters in West Bank and Gaza using live fire and rubber-coated steel bullets

December 18, 2015 2:23PM ET

Israeli forces on Friday shot and killed three Palestinians and wounded at least 78 others in clashes that raged across the occupied Palestinian territories for a second straight day, according to officials and local reports.

Forces killed a Palestinian driver they accused of trying to ram his car into a group of Israeli soldiers. Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the assailant sped toward forces engaged in clashes with protesters in the town of Silwad, near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Samri said the Israeli forces took cover behind concrete blocks and fatally shot the driver. She said no Israelis were wounded.

The alleged attack was the second to take place on Friday. In the earlier attack, which occurred at a West Bank checkpoint, the suspected assailant was wounded and subsequently arrested.
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Clashes on Friday between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters occurred in a number of villages and cities across the West Bank, including Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus and Bethlehem.

During the clashes, Israeli forces reportedly opened fire on protesters using a combination of live ammunition and rubber-coated steel bullets. At least 38 Palestinians were shot and injured in the violence, according to local Ma’an News Agency.

Of those injured, one protester who was shot in the chest in the village of Sinjil, near Ramallah, died in the hospital of his wounds. Another protester shot in the head at the Beit Einun junction near Hebron is in critical condition, Ma’an reported.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces on Friday shot and killed a Palestinian protester during clashes in the Gaza Strip and injured at least 40 others, according to the territory’s ministry of health.

Citing a health official, Ma’an reported the deceased as Mahmoud Muhammad Saed al-Agha, 20, of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The recent surge in violence broke out in early October after Israel imposed restrictions on worshipers at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. After the restrictions were implemented, four Israelis were killed in two attacks blamed on Palestinians. Israeli settlers in the West Bank responded by rioting, assaulting Palestinians and destroying their property. A spate of protests, clashes and retaliatory stabbings have ensued.

Since the beginning of October, at least 129 Palestinians and 19 Israelis have been killed. Thousands of Palestinians have also been injured in clashes with Israeli forces, overwhelming the Red Crescent and local medical facilities.

Palestinian protesters are calling for unrestricted access to worship at Al-Aqsa, a site also revered by Jews as the location of two ancient temples. The protesters also demand an end to Israel’s decades-long military occupation of the Palestinian territories and the cessation of settlement building, both of which are illegal under international law.

Al Jazeera and wire services
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