Israeli forces kill Palestinian near Jenin in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian man near Jenin, and an Israeli settler was fatally shot in a separate incident in the central West Bank.

Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian man near the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank after he “attempted to carry out a vehicular attack” near an illegal settlement.

An army spokesperson said on Sunday that Israeli forces shot the man near the illegal settlement of Ganim, east of the Palestinian city of Jenin. The spokesperson said there were no casualties among Israeli forces.

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The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces prevented their medical team from reaching the victim, the Wafa news agency reported.

In a separate incident, an Israeli settler was fatally shot in an attack near the illegal settlement of Halamish in the central West Bank.

The 30-year-old man was taken to a hospital where he died of his wounds, police said.

The military said it the suspect opened fire from a vehicle and left the scene on foot. After a search by security forces, the military said the man, who was injured while fleeing, was detained at a hospital where he had sought care.

Minister calls for death penalty

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded on Sunday that the suspect face the death penalty. He said in a post on X that this is the “first case that meets the criteria of the Death Penalty Law” since the Knesset – Israel’s parliament – adopted the law in March this year.

The death penalty law allows military courts to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis, but does not impose the same penalty on Israelis convicted of killing Palestinians.

Ben-Gvir was a strident campaigner for the law before it was adopted. In May, he shared an AI-generated video on TikTok, saying he “dreams” of nooses.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the military and security agencies to increase their forces and carry out arrests and offensive ⁠activities in the area. He also said he ordered the demolition of the suspected attacker’s home.

After the shooting, Israeli forces closed all entry and exit points to Ramallah and el-Bireh cities, Wafa reported.

Escalation in the occupied West Bank

Israeli violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has been steadily growing since the eruption of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, but the pogroms intensified significantly this year.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded more than 1,330 settler-related attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank from January to late July, averaging six a day and marking the fastest pace in about 20 years.

Various settler groups, often supported or protected by Israeli soldiers, have attacked Palestinians in several ways, including shootings, besieging homes and engaging in other forms of communal violence that experts have described as “pogroms“.

In July, Israeli forces shot dead four Palestinians in the town of Tal, near Nablus, during a settler incursion on their land. Two Israelis were also killed in the incident, which triggered a violent “rampage” by Israeli settlers.

Rights groups warn that settlers are increasingly armed with military-issued weaponry and wear military uniforms during attacks, blurring the line between settler and soldier.