Israeli forces have fatally shot a Palestinian man at the Rantis checkpoint west of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian health ministry and the Israeli army.
Mahdi Biadsa, 29, was killed on Friday as he arrived at the checkpoint in what the Israeli military said was a stolen vehicle.
The military added that Biadsa “attacked an IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldier and attempted to steal his weapon” as the vehicle was being searched.
A Hamas spokesperson, without claiming responsibility, said the incident showed that “resistance in the West Bank is ready and able to confront the crimes of the occupation”.
Tensions are high in the region as Israel expands its near-nightly military raids in the occupied territory under its most right-wing government.
Since the start of the year, Israeli forces have killed at least 158 Palestinians, including 26 children, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The death toll includes 36 Palestinians killed by the Israeli army during a four-day assault on the besieged Gaza Strip in May.
More than 700,000 Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 War.
