Palestinian shot dead by Israeli army in West Bank: officials

Ramallah: A Palestinian was shot dead during clashes with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Monday, Palestinian officials said.

Ahmed Saleem, 24, was shot in Jayyous near Qalqilya, close to the separation fence between Israel and the West Bank, the health ministry said, with official Palestinian media saying he was killed during clashes.

The Israeli army said dozens of Palestinians had thrown rocks at Israeli soldiers.

“In response to the violence, soldiers responded with riot dispersal means and live rounds,” it said in a statement, adding it was “looking into” reports of a Palestinian killed.

Saleem was the 17th Palestinian to be killed since US President Donald Trump’s controversial declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on December 6, most of them in clashes with Israeli forces.

One Israeli has been killed since then.

Trump’s announcement infuriated Palestinians, who see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, and sparked protests.

Separately Monday, the Palestinian leadership was meeting to develop a strategy to respond to Trump, with president Mahmud Abbas on Sunday condemning the US leader’s peace proposals as the “slap of the century”.

AFP