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Israeli Officer Kills Palestinian Assailant in West Bank, Police Say 

Israeli security forces are pictured during a military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hawara, on December 2, 2022. (AFP)
Israeli security forces are pictured during a military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hawara, on December 2, 2022. (AFP)
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Israeli Officer Kills Palestinian Assailant in West Bank, Police Say 

Israeli security forces are pictured during a military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hawara, on December 2, 2022. (AFP)
Israeli security forces are pictured during a military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hawara, on December 2, 2022. (AFP)

An Israeli officer shot dead a Palestinian assailant in the occupied West Bank on Friday, border police said, an incident which the Palestinians denounced as an execution. 

The man had stabbed and lightly wounded a border policeman after which another officer overpowered him. The man then fought with the officer and tried to snatch his rifle before the officer shot him dead, border police said in a statement. 

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed his death. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it was tantamount to an execution meant to escalate already spiraling violence in the territory, which Palestinians seek for a state. 

Border police distributed a photo of a knife on the ground and another of a border policeman with what appears to be a stabbing wound to his head. 

A video circulating on social media showed an officer holding a man in a head-lock by a road as two other men try to wrestle him away. The man then appears to strike the officer and attempt to take hold of his rifle before the officer pulls out a handgun and shoots him several times as he falls to the ground. 

The video, taken from a distance as vehicles cross the frame, could not be independently verified by Reuters. It does not show what had transpired prior and whether the man had been holding a knife or any other weapon before it was filmed. 

A border police spokesman did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the incident, which took place close to the city of Nablus. 

The city, along with nearby Jenin, has seen intensified and often fatal Israeli military operations, since a spate of deadly Palestinian street attacks in Israeli cities in March. 

The worst violence in the West Bank in years has deepened diplomatic stagnation since US-brokered peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state there, in Gaza and in East Jerusalem, collapsed in 2014. 

The incoming Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu looks likely to include far-right politicians who oppose Palestinian statehood and want the Palestinian Authority (PA), which wields limited self-rule in the West Bank, dismantled. 

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Arab World

Islamabad: 50,000 Pakistanis Are Missing in Iraq

Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)
Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)
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Islamabad: 50,000 Pakistanis Are Missing in Iraq

Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)
Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)

Pakistan’s Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Chaudhry Salik Hussain sparked controversy when he revealed that 50,000 Pakistanis have gone missing in Iraq over the years.

He urged the Baghdad government to immediately launch a probe into how the Pakistanis entered Iraq to visit religious sites during the month of Muharram, he was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s Ummat newspaper.

Islamabad is investigating how people have traveled outside Pakistan through illegal means, he remarked.

The permanent committee for religious affairs and interfaith harmony has since proposed new policies for trips to holy sites in foreign countries, including Iraq.

In Iraq, the minister’s comments drew mockery and condemnation on social media and sparked renewed debate over illegal workers in the country.

Politician Mishaan al-Juburi urged the government to make a statement over Hussain’s comments, warning that they may impact security and the labor force.

Hussain’s comments coincided with Iraqi police announcing the arrest of six Pakistanis in Baghdad on charges of theft.

Previously, military intelligence also announced the arrest of a nine-member Pakistani kidnapping and extortion gang in Baghdad. The gang had kidnapped foreigners for ransom.

Meanwhile, Labor Minister Ahmed al-Asadi expressed his concern and condemnation over the increasing number of illegal workers in Iraq.

He said his ministry will investigate the disappearance of the Pakistanis.

He confirmed that several tourists, including Pakistanis, have flocked to Iraq in recent days, and many have taken up employment without the necessary legal permits.

He warned that this phenomenon is negatively impacting the national economy.

The ministry will not be lenient in taking the necessary legal measures against the violators, he vowed.

Iraq welcomes all tourists, whether they are here on a religious visit or otherwise, but they must respect local laws and regulations, declared Asadi.

Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala.