Israeli forces kill Palestinian woman in Nablus

Israeli forces have today shot and killed a young Palestinian woman at the Zaatara military checkpoint in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus after she allegedly attempted to stab an Israeli border police guard, Ma’an reported.

The woman was identified by local sources as 23-year-old Raheeq Shajee Birawi from the village of Asira Al-Shamaliya north of Nablus city.

Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Al-Samri said in a statement that according to initial investigations, the woman approached Israeli border guards stationed at the Tappuah junction – the Israeli term for the area around the checkpoint – and after “ignoring their directives and their calls for her to stop,” she pulled out a knife. Israeli forces then opened live fire on the young woman and “neutralised” her.

Al-Samri added that the woman “seemingly” died, but could not confirm her death. However, Hebrew language media outlets have reported that the woman was killed during the incident.

The woman became the 224th Palestinian to be killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers since a wave of violence spread across the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel last year.

The violence has been largely characterised by small-scale alleged, attempted, an actual attacks committed by Palestinians against uniformed Israeli soldiers or police, mainly using knives or similar weapons.

Rights groups have disputed Israel’s version of events in a number of cases, denouncing what they have termed as a “shoot-to-kill” policy against Palestinians who did not constitute a threat at the time of their death or who could have been subdued in a non-lethal manner – amid a backdrop of impunity for Israeli forces who have committing the killings.