IOF Murders Two Palestinian Women, Young Man in West Bank

By Staff, Agencies

Over the weekend, the “Israeli” Occupation Forces [IOF] troops had killed three Palestinians in different cities of the occupied West Bank.

A young Palestinian man in Bethlehem, a young woman in al-Khalil [Hebron], and a mother of six children in a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank were killed by the IOF on Sunday.

“Israeli” sources alleged a Palestinian woman stabbed an officer near the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil [Hebron], in the southern part of the West Bank, mildly wounding him, before the soldiers shot and killed her.

The Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry said the woman, identified as Maha Kathem Awad Zaatari, 24, was from the Abu Da’jan area in al-Khalil [Hebron] city.

The IOF army said the woman arrived at the roadblock, where many soldiers and officers are stationed, and stabbed one before she was fatally shot.

After killing the young woman, the IOF closed the Ibrahimi Mosque and declared the area around it a closed military zone.

The soldiers also invaded her home and ransacked it, in addition to interrogating her family.

In related news, the army opened fire at a Palestinian car transporting workers at the military roadblock near the al-Thaheriyya town, south of al-Khalil [Hebron]. The soldiers claimed the car failed to stop; the incident did not lead to casualties.

In Bethlehem, south of occupied al-Quds [Jerusalem] in the West Bank, the soldiers invaded the al-Khader town, south of the city, and killed a young man.

Local sources said the soldiers ambushed several Palestinians before killing a former political prisoner, Mohammad Ali Ghneim, 21.

The Palestinian was shot with a live round in the back before the bullet exited from the chest area.

He was standing near his home, close to the illegal Annexation Wall, when the soldiers shot him.

Palestinian medics rushed Mohammad to the al-Yamama hospital in al-Khader town, where he died from his serious wounds.

Earlier in the day, the IOF killed a widowed Palestinian mother of six children, Ghada Ibrahim Ali al-Sabateen, 48, in Husan village, west of Bethlehem.

“The force opened fire as part of a suspect arrest procedure that included firing into the air. After she did not stop, the soldiers fired at her lower body,” the IOF said in a statement on Sunday.

In a video footage released on social media platforms, the woman, 48-year-old al-Sabateen, can be seen raising her hands and walking quickly at what is described as a makeshift checkpoint in the village of Husan.

The footage does not show the IOF soldiers firing into the air or provide any other context for the woman’s approach, and it is filmed at enough of a distance to make any exchange of words between the two parties difficult to hear. However, the Times of “Israel” quotes a member of the local council, who claims al-Sabateen refused soldiers’ calls to stop.

After being knocked to the ground by the bullets, al-Sabateen is initially seen sitting up before a gap in the footage ends with her lying down. The IOF can be seen covering her with cardboard, and their statement claims they administered first aid.

Palestinian medics rushed the mother of six to a hospital in Beit Jala after the shooting, which left her bleeding profusely from a torn artery in her thigh. She ultimately died of blood loss.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, “Israeli” troops carried out several large raids, arresting 20 Palestinians and wounding 11. They claimed those arrested were involved in “terrorist activities.” The “Israeli”-occupied Palestinian territories has experienced multiple shootings over the past weeks.