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Musa Al-Shaer / AFP / Getty Images
An elderly Palestinian woman was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Friday after she allegedly attempted to ram her vehicle into soldiers near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. In separate incidents, a Palestinian protester was shot dead in Gaza and four Israelis were injured in attacks.
The Israeli military said the elderly driver slowed down, then sped up and drove her car toward the soldiers. The troops reportedly jumped out of the way and were not hurt. However, they shot and killed the woman. Local media identified her as 72-year-old Tharwat al-Sharawi.
Medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent who initially tended to the woman at the scene said she was shot 15 times.
Also on Friday in Hebron, two Israelis were wounded in a shooting attack near the Cave of Patriarchs, known to Muslims as Ibrahimi Mosque. One of the Israelis, a 16-year-old, was seriously injured. Israeli forces are searching for the attacker.
Les than two hours later, a 19-year-old Israeli settler was shot and seriously injured near a village north of Hebron, local media reported. Israeli forces are searching the area for the attacker.
Hebron, the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, has witnessed daily clashes between Palestinian youth – protesting Israel’s military occupation – and Israeli forces.
In a separate incident Friday, a 40-year-old Israeli was stabbed and seriously wounded at Sha'ar Binyamin Industrial Park in a settlement near Ramallah. The attacker has yet to be apprehended.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old Palestinian, identified by Palestinian officials as Salameh Abu Jami, was shot and killed by Israeli forces during a protest east of Khan Yunis city in Gaza. Others were also injured by Israeli fire at the demonstration.
Other clashes were reported at various locations throughout the West Bank, as well as in East Jerusalem and Gaza.
Friday's incidents came as part of a tense, nearly two-month period of Israeli-Palestinian unrest. At least nine Israelis have been killed in alleged Palestinian attacks, most of them stabbings. More than 76 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 46 whom Israel charges were involved in attacks or attempted attacks.
The protests and clashes erupted in mid-September with clashes at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and quickly spread. Palestinian Muslims fear that Israel is seeking to lift its long-standing ban on Jewish prayer at the site — referred to as the Temple Mount by Jews and Noble Sanctuary by Muslims. Israel has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Al Jazeera and wire services
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