Israeli soldiers kill disabled man during West Bank raid

Israeli forces shot dead a disabled man in the occupied West Bank on Friday, during a raid south of Hebron.

Special forces stormed the village of Beit Awa, southwest of Hebron, and surrounded a paint shop.

During the raid, Muhammad Ahmad Masalma, a 23-year-old with learning difficulties, was hit by a bullet while the Israelis arrested his cousin Thabet Masalma inside the shop.

An witness reported that Masalma tried to flee in fear at the moment of the raid, but the force opened fire on him, which led to his injury and his delivery to a Palestinian ambulance.

He was then transferred to Dura Governmental Hospital, where the Ministry of Health announced his death.

The army claimed in a statement that the forces that shot him “sensed danger” after police and soldiers entered the village.

Masalma was a friend and relative of the prisoner Izz Masalma, who carried out a shooting near the Tunnels checkpoint in Bethlehem two days ago, which killed a settler and injured four others.

He was arrested the next day.

Since the war on Gaza erupted in October 2023, land seizures and violent attacks aimed at forcing Palestinians to abandon their homes have greatly increased.

The attacks have coincided with sweeping restrictions on movement that have denied Palestinians access to cities, towns and villages.

At least 792 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers since the start of the Gaza war, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.

Several countries, including the United States, France, Britain, Canada and Australia, have recently imposed sanctions on a number of settlers and their organisations.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in August that Israeli settlers were endangering “any chance of peace” and called on the Israeli government to “stop these unacceptable actions immediately”.