JERUSALEM

A Palestinian was killed by Israeli army forces on Wednesday for allegedly attempting to take a soldier’s weapon in the occupied West Bank, local media said.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said the incident took place when some 100 Palestinians gathered at the site of a car accident near the Al-Aroub refugee camp in the southern West Bank.

KAN said a soldier opened fire on a Palestinian man after he tried to take his weapon, leaving him dead.

The Israeli army has opened an investigation into the incident.

The Palestinian official news agency Wafa, citing security sources, confirmed that a Palestinian was shot by Israeli forces at a bypass road in the West Bank.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 43,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

Over 780 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 6,300 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar