A Palestinian activist was shot dead by Israeli forces while crossing a security barrier in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Palestinian sources said.
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The Palestinian Health Ministry has identified the man killed as 53-year-old Nabeel Ghanam, a resident of the West Bank city of Nablus.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said Ghanem was among thousands of West Bank Palestinians who regularly seek work in Israel.
An Israeli military spokesman said forces “shot a suspect who breached a security fence.”
Wages on Israeli farms and construction sites can be paid by most Palestinian employers in the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
Jobs inside Israel are highly coveted by many Palestinians. Some have permission to work in Israel while others want to cross without authorization.
Ghanem’s killing comes amid a spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Nineteen people, mostly Israeli citizens – including 18 inside Israel and one Jewish settler – have been killed in attacks by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs since late March.
Israeli security forces have responded with raids inside Israel and in the West Bank, particularly in and around Jenin. Three Israeli Arab attackers and one Israeli police commando have been killed.
Forty-five Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank – suspected terrorists, but also non-combatants, including an Al Jazeera journalist who was covering a raid in Jenin.
Tensions have risen again recently after three Palestinians from armed groups were killed on Friday by Israeli forces during an army raid in Jenin.
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