Ramallah [Palestine], December 3: A Palestinian man was killed late Friday by the Israeli border police outside the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian Health Ministry and eyewitnesses said.
The man, identified as Ammar Mefleh, 22, died in the town of Huwara, south of Nablus, after he was shot by an Israeli border police officer, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry was informed of the man's death by the Palestinian Liaison Office, an organization established by the Palestinian Authority to coordinate security affairs with Israel, it noted.
Palestinian eyewitnesses said that the Israeli officer opened fire at point-blank range at a Palestinian young man following a scuffle between them in downtown Huwara.
The witnesses noted the "Israeli soldiers at the scene prevented a team of Palestinian paramedics from reaching the man under critical bleeding."
Video footage, believed to be filmed in Huwwara, was cited by Palestinian media, showing a Palestinian was gunned down point-blank by an Israeli border police officer following their scuffle.
Following the incident, clashes broke out between dozens of Palestinian protestors and Israeli soldiers, who fired teargas and rubber-coated metal bullets to disperse them, according to the eyewitnesses.
Tension in the West Bank between Israel and the Palestinians has been mounting since March, with daily Israeli raids into towns and villages hunting for Palestinians accused of being behind attacks against Israel.
Official Palestinian figures showed that since January, more than 200 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli soldiers, including 50 in the Gaza Strip. More than 20 Israelis were killed in a series of attacks carried out by Palestinians.
Source: Xinhua
