Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Woman in West Bank

The place where the Palestinian girl was killed in Beitunia (AFP)
The place where the Palestinian girl was killed in Beitunia (AFP)
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Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Woman in West Bank

The place where the Palestinian girl was killed in Beitunia (AFP)
The place where the Palestinian girl was killed in Beitunia (AFP)

Israeli forces on Monday killed a Palestinian teenage girl in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military said its troops opened fire on a vehicle that was accelerating towards the soldiers.

The incident in Beitunia, near the hub city of Ramallah, was the latest during an intensified military sweep of West Bank launched by Israel in March after a spate of Palestinian street attacks in its cities.

In March, the Israeli forces launched a military operation in the West Bank after a series of Palestinian attacks in its cities.

Palestinian medics said a 19-year-old woman from Hebron was shot dead. It was not immediately clear where she had been sitting in the car.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said a 26-year-old man with her was detained by the troops.

An Israeli army spokesperson said troops, in Beitunia to capture a suspected fighter, had spotted a "suspicious vehicle" approaching and that the driver - described only as a male - accelerated toward them despite their signaling him to stop.

"In response, the soldiers shot at the vehicle. Hits were identified. The incident is under review," the spokesperson said, without giving details on casualties or arrests.



Palestinian NGO to Ask UK Court to Block F-35 Parts to Israel over Gaza War

Protesters demonstrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice ahead of a legal challenge brought by the Palestinian NGO Al-Haq over Britain's exports of parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel, amid its conflict with Hamas, in London, Britain, November 18, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin
Protesters demonstrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice ahead of a legal challenge brought by the Palestinian NGO Al-Haq over Britain's exports of parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel, amid its conflict with Hamas, in London, Britain, November 18, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin
TT

Palestinian NGO to Ask UK Court to Block F-35 Parts to Israel over Gaza War

Protesters demonstrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice ahead of a legal challenge brought by the Palestinian NGO Al-Haq over Britain's exports of parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel, amid its conflict with Hamas, in London, Britain, November 18, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin
Protesters demonstrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice ahead of a legal challenge brought by the Palestinian NGO Al-Haq over Britain's exports of parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel, amid its conflict with Hamas, in London, Britain, November 18, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin

Britain is allowing parts for F-35 fighter jets to be exported to Israel despite accepting they could be used in breach of international humanitarian law in Gaza, lawyers for a Palestinian rights group told a London court on Monday.

West Bank-based Al-Haq, which documents alleged rights violations by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, is taking legal action against Britain's Department for Business and Trade at London's High Court, Reuters reported.

Israel has been accused of violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza war, with the UN Human Rights Office saying nearly 70% of fatalities it has verified were women and children, a report Israel rejected.

Israel says it takes care to avoid harming civilians and denies committing abuses and war crimes in the conflicts with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Al-Haq's case comes after Britain in September suspended 30 of 350 arms export licences, though it exempted the indirect export of F-35 parts, citing the impact on the global F-35 programme.

Al-Haq argues that decision was unlawful as there is a clear risk F-35s could be used in breach of international humanitarian law.

British government lawyers said in documents for Monday's hearing that ministers assessed Israel had committed possible breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) in relation to humanitarian access and the treatment of detainees.

Britain also "accepts that there is clear risk that F-35 components might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of IHL", its lawyer James Eadie said.

Eadie added that Britain had nonetheless decided that F-35 components should still be exported, quoting from advice to defense minister John Healey that suspending F-35 parts "would have a profound impact on international peace and security".

A full hearing of Al-Haq's legal challenge is likely to be heard early in 2025.

The Gaza health ministry says more than 43,800 people have been confirmed killed since the war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023.