Israeli forces kill Palestinian following suspected vehicle attack

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday after he carried out a suspected vehicular attack that injured two Israelis, one critically, according to police and local media reports.

"A border policeman was critically wounded in a ramming attack near [the city of] Hebron," Israeli police officials said in a statement.

Citing a witness, Palestinian-run Ma’an News Agency reported that a second Israeli was also wounded in the suspected attack.

The witness told Ma’an that he “saw two Israeli soldiers on the ground bleeding after they were apparently run over by a Palestinian vehicle.”

Israeli forces on the scene reportedly fired at the vehicle, killing the Palestinian driver, who was later identified as a 22-year-old male from Tulkarem.

Hebron has become a flashpoint for unrest against Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian territories, and the military said Wednesday’s incident marked the 30th suspected attack against Israelis in the area since the start of October, around the time the latest wave of violence began. 

Renewed violence erupted last month after Israel imposed restrictions on worshipers at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. After the restrictions were implemented, protests erupted and four Israelis were killed in two attacks blamed on Palestinians. Israeli settlers in the West Bank responded by rioting, assaulting Palestinian villagers and destroying their property. A spate of protests, clashes and stabbings have ensued.

Since the beginning of October, at least 74 Palestinians and nine Israelis have been killed. Thousands of Palestinians have also been injured in clashes with Israeli forces, forcing the Red Crescent to declare an emergency.

Palestinian protesters are calling for unrestricted access to worship at Al-Aqsa, a site also revered by Jews as the location of two ancient temples. The protesters also demand an end to Israel’s decades-long military occupation of the Palestinian territories and the cessation of settlement building, both of which are illegal under international law.

Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces broke out in Hebron immediately after Wednesday’s shooting death. Palestinians in Hebron have been protesting daily demanding Israel return the bodies of Palestinians killed in alleged stabbing attacks. More than 20 bodies of stabbing suspects have not been returned to families for burial.

Clashes also erupted in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday after Palestinian children and workers were prevented access to their schools and workplaces, local media reported.

A growing number of visits by religious Jews to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound have stirred Palestinian allegations that Israel is violating a long-running agreement banning non-Muslim prayer there.

During a PLO executive council meeting on Wednesday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated Israeli authorities must enforce the status quo of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Israel has accused Palestinian officials of inciting the violence by spreading the allegations, which it says are false. 

Al Jazeera and wire services