Israeli civilian kills Palestinian

SDE EFRAIM, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — An Israeli civilian shot dead a Palestinian Saturday at a settler farm in the occupied West Bank after an attempted stabbing, the military said, the latest incident as violence surges in the territory.

An assailant tried to knife an Israeli civilian during the “attempted stabbing attack” at Sde Efraim farm northwest of Ramallah, it said.

“The terrorist was neutralized,” the army added, confirming to AFP that a civilian shot dead the Palestinian.

No one else was wounded in the incident, the army statement said.

An AFP photographer saw Israeli forces preventing a Palestinian ambulance from accessing the site.

The Palestinian health ministry said 42-year-old Tariq Maali was killed “after the occupation (Israel) opened fire on him” near the Palestinian village of Kafr Nama.

According to Israeli anti-settlement movement Peace Now, the farm is known as a wildcat settlement, an outpost not recognized by Israel.

All settlements are deemed illegal under international law, which Israel disputes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to pursue a policy of increased settlement expansion in the West Bank, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties in his coalition advocate the annexation of some of the territory.

The shooting brings to 18 the number of Palestinians killed so far this month in the West Bank, according to an AFP tally which includes militants and civilians.

The inauguration in December of the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, led by Netanyahu, has sparked fears of a military escalation in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War.