Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian in West Bank Clashes, Palestinian Sources Say

An Israeli soldier uses a weapon amid clashes with Palestinian protesters, in Hebron, in the Israeli- occupied West Bank April 1, 2022. (Reuters)
An Israeli soldier uses a weapon amid clashes with Palestinian protesters, in Hebron, in the Israeli- occupied West Bank April 1, 2022. (Reuters)
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Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian in West Bank Clashes, Palestinian Sources Say

An Israeli soldier uses a weapon amid clashes with Palestinian protesters, in Hebron, in the Israeli- occupied West Bank April 1, 2022. (Reuters)
An Israeli soldier uses a weapon amid clashes with Palestinian protesters, in Hebron, in the Israeli- occupied West Bank April 1, 2022. (Reuters)

Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, in clashes that broke out in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.

The Israeli military said its soldiers were at immediate risk from a petrol bomb the man threw at them and had therefore opened fire. The military described the confrontation as "a riot" and Palestinian residents said clashes had broken out.

Tensions have risen over the past week after a string of deadly Arab attacks in Israel. Israeli officials had warned about a potential surge in assaults in the run-up in April to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a period during which violence has surged in the past.

On Tuesday, a Palestinian gunman shot dead five people in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak before he was killed by police. The shooting, condemned by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, raised to 11 the number of people killed by Arab attackers in Israel over the past week.

On Thursday, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in clashes that erupted during a West Bank raid and in a separate incident, a Palestinian stabbed a passenger on an Israeli bus near a West Bank Jewish settlement and was shot dead by another passenger.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has announced a series of measures to deal with what he has described as a new wave of attacks, saying more police would be put on city streets and security would be tightened in areas bordering the West Bank.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.