Palestinian man killed during IDF raid on West Bank refugee camp

Marcy Oster

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man during a raid on a West Bank refugee camp.

The man was shot in the chest early Wednesday morning as he threw an explosive device at the soldiers in the al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah. The soldiers were in the camp to arrest a wanted Hamas operative, according to the IDF spokesman.

The soldiers were surrounded by about 50 Palestinians and attacked, the spokesman said.

Protesters “showered the invading forces with stones, and soldiers responded with live ammunition, injuring a number of other Palestinians,” an eye-witness told the Palestinian Maan news agency.

The dead man, identified as Issa Khaled al-Qatri, 22, was scheduled to be married next week, according to Maan.

At least six other Palestinians were arrested in the West Bank overnight, accused of taking part in attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.

Meanwhile, Palestinian riots continued in eastern Jerusalem for a third day following a visit Tuesday by Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, who vowed to increase security to battle against the continued violence.

The violence increased in eastern Jerusalem on Sunday following the death of a Palestinian teenager who was shot a week earlier by Israeli troops during a demonstration.