Jenin raid: Israeli forces kill Palestinian man

Israeli forces shot dead Fathi Zidan Hazem, a 58-year-old Palestinian man, in Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank on Friday. The Israeli military said he had attempted to stab a soldier.

The Palestinian health ministry said Hazem died from injuries after being shot by Israeli forces and said Israel was withholding his body.

The Israeli military said a “terrorist armed with a knife” attempted to stab an Israeli soldier while troops were operating in the Jenin area. It said soldiers fired at him and that no troops were injured.

A Palestinian eyewitness told AFP that Israeli forces raided a neighbour's house early Friday and told Hazem to raise his hands, which he refused to do. She said he then attacked them with a knife and was shot several times in front of his 10-year-old son.

Hazem was a retired colonel in the Palestinian National Security Forces. His son Raad Hazem killed three Israelis and wounded several others in a Tel Aviv shooting in April 2022 before being shot dead by Israeli forces after a manhunt. Another son, Abdul Rahman Hazem, was killed during an Israeli military raid targeting alleged militants in the Jenin refugee camp in September 2022.

Violence in the West Bank has surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Palestinian figures say at least 1,098 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers since then. Official Israeli data shows at least 48 Israelis, civilians and security personnel, have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or during Israeli military operations.