RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug 21 (Reuters) – An Israeli man guarding a group of Jewish settlers who walked onto Palestinian village land on Friday opened fire towards Palestinians who confronted them, killing a 17-year-old and wounding a 70-year-old man, officials said.
The incident in the occupied West Bank village of Sa’ir followed the latest in what the Israeli military describes as “unauthorized hikes” by settlers, who enter the outskirts of villages in what Palestinians view as an act of intimidation.
The Palestinian villagers threw rocks toward the settlers, “who were present in the area without advance authorization”, the military said in a statement. Some of the settlers were injured, it added.
“A security official opened fire in the area, and there are Palestinian casualties as a result of the shooting,” the military said.
Palestinian officials said a 17-year-old boy died after being shot in the chest. The condition of the 70-year-old was not immediately clear.
The village of Sa’ir sits near the city of Hebron in a southern West Bank area under Palestinian Authority civil control and where Israelis are generally prohibited from entering.
The West Bank, home to 3 million Palestinians and some 500,000 settlers, has seen a rise in settler violence and seizures of land and resources. A siege by settlers of homes in the village of Qusra this week drew international condemnation.
U.N. bodies and most countries view the settlements as illegal under international law regarding military occupations. Israel disputes this, citing biblical links to the area.
Overnight, in Jenin in the north, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man after raiding his home, Palestinian officials said. The military said soldiers shot him after he tried to stab them. No troops were injured, it added.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub and Ali SawaftaEditing by Gareth Jones)
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