Palestinian man shot dead by Israeli settler near Ramallah
An Israeli settler on Saturday shot and killed a Palestinian man on a farm near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Tariq Maali, 42, was killed after "the occupation [Israel] opened fire on him" near the Palestinian town of Kafr Nama, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The Israeli military told AFP that Maali had allegedly attempted to stab an Israeli civilian at the Sde Efraim farm, an illegal settler outpost, and was "neutralised" by the Israeli.
CCTV footage released by the military showed a man entering the farm and being shot dead soon afterwards.
Israeli authorities prevented a Palestinian ambulance from entering the site, according to an AFP photographer.
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Sde Efraim is a settler outpost, or wildcat settlement, which is illegal under Israeli law.
The distinction between outposts and other settlements is not one recognised by international law, which deems all settlements in occupied territory illegal.
Two years ago, an Israeli settler shot dead Khaled Nofal, a 34-year-old unarmed Palestinian accountant, in the same location.
According to Israeli accounts, Nofal was trying to attack the settler outpost unarmed, a claim his family denied to Middle East Eye.
The latest killing brings the number of Palestinians killed so far this year to 18, including four children.
On Thursday, Jawad Farid Bawaqta, 57, a high school teacher and father of six children, was shot dead by Israeli forces after he went to give first aid to a another, wounded, Palestinian.
Israeli forces conduct near-nightly search-and-arrest operations in the West Bank, which often turn deadly.
Most of the raids in recent months have focused on Nablus and Jenin, which are home to a growing number of Palestinian fighters.
At least 167 people were killed last year in the West Bank, the highest death toll since the Second Intifada.
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