A Palestinian man was killed and five others were wounded when Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian protesters during a clash in the occupied West Bank Thursday.
Ahmed Daraghmeh, 23, was mortally wounded by Israeli troops who had entered the Palestinian city of Nablus to escort Jewish worshippers to a site known as the biblical Joseph’s Tomb, according to medics.
"The young man, Ahmad Atef Daraghmeh, 23, was shot dead by the Israeli army during a raid on the city of Nablus," the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported.
Daraghmeh was from the nearby town of Tubas and was a football player for the town’s local team. It was unclear whether he was taking part in the clashes.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency (AA) that a large group of Israeli military forces stormed Joseph's Tomb, east of Nablus, to secure settlers' access to perform Talmudic prayers.
Clashes broke out between dozens of Palestinians and the Israeli army, eyewitnesses added.
The sound of gunfire was heard in amateur videos that Palestinians recorded from their windows.
The Israeli military, on the other hand, claimed that troops escorted Israeli civilians to the shrine and that Palestinians "hurled explosive devices and fired toward the soldiers," who responded with live fire. It said troops confirmed shooting a Palestinian.
The religious site, which Jews call Joseph's Tomb, has long been a flashpoint for violence.
Jews say the site is the burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph. Muslims, however, challenge this assertion, saying an Islamic cleric – Sheikh Yussef Dawiqat – was buried at the site two centuries ago.
Some 150 Palestinians and 31 Israelis have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, according to official figures, making 2022 the deadliest year since 2006.
Israel accuses most of the Palestinians killed to be militants, but stone-throwing youths and some people not involved in the violence have also been killed.
