Tel aviv: Palestinian health officials reported on Thursday that an Israeli soldier had shot and killed a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, the most recent victim of the ongoing violence.
According to a count by The Associated Press, the death brings the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank this year to 168. It occurs at a time when tensions are at an all-time high due to Israel's ongoing raids into Palestinian areas of the territory and follows the release from house arrest of a Jewish settler who was charged with murdering a Palestinian man, 19, last week.
Amir Ahmed Khalifa, 27, was killed by Israeli forces in the most recent incident of violence, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, in the West Bank town of Zawata, which is located north of the city of Nablus. During the recent fighting, the region has served as a hotspot for violence between Israeli forces and Palestinians.
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The Israeli military was silent right away.
Israel has been conducting almost nightly incursions into Palestinian territory in an effort, according to Israel, to destroy militant networks and prevent further attacks. As a result of the raids, there have been more fatalities and some of the worst fighting between the sides in the West Bank in the past 20 years.
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Israel claims that the majority of those killed were militants, but young people throwing stones in protest at the raids and others who weren't involved in any altercations were also killed.
Israelis have been attacked by Palestinians this year, resulting in at least 27 fatalities.
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In the 1967 Middle East conflict, Israel took control of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians are looking for those areas for their future independent state.