Israeli forces kill Palestinian woman in West Bank
People carry the body of Palestinian woman Ghada Sabatin, who medics said was killed by Israeli forces, during her funeral in Husan in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestine, April 10, 2022. (Reuters Photo)


Israeli soldiers on Sunday shot and killed a Palestinian woman in the occupied West Bank following a string of deadly attacks in Israel, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said the woman, 35, was shot by Israeli forces and died from her wounds.

According to eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers opened fire on the woman while walking near Husan village, west of Bethlehem, and was rushed to hospital where she took her last breath.

The Israeli military stated that the woman had run toward soldiers at a position near Bethlehem and did not heed their calls or warning shots to stop.

"When the suspect continued approaching, the soldiers fired towards the suspect's lower body," the military said, adding that no weapon had been found on the woman and that the incident was being investigated.

Israeli forces have been on high alert following a string of attacks that have killed 14 people in Israel since late March.

More than 20 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since January, while Palestinians have reported a rise in violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

In public remarks to his Cabinet on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said there would be no restrictions on security forces in stopping what he has described as a "new wave of terrorism."

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned the killing of the woman, saying he held Israel "fully responsible for the consequences of this heinous crime."

"The (Israeli) occupation soldiers do not stop their terrorist practices of shooting unarmed civilians," he said.

"The organized state terrorism by Israel requires the international rights' organizations to condemn it and to work on stopping it," he added.

Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official, said Israel's expansion of settlements on occupied land Palestinians want for a state and visits by far-right Israelis to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem have led to escalation.

The state news agency Wafa identified the woman as Ghada Ibrahim Sbatein, a mother of six.

Al-Aqsa, in a part of Jerusalem that Israel captured along with the West Bank in the 1967 war, has been a flashpoint of violence, often during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last week.

Israel seeks to cut benefits to families of Arab 'attackers'

The Israeli government approved Sunday a proposal to withhold state benefits for Arab families in Israel, whose members are accused of carrying out attacks.

The proposal was presented by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Welfare Minister Meir Cohen, according to a statement by Bennett's office.

A panel committee is expected to convene within 60 days to formulate recommendations on the issue.

Israeli rights groups warn that such legislation may be applied as a collective punishment against Arab citizens of Israel. Similar legislations in the past failed to be passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament.