Family: 2 Palestinian siblings slain by the bastard entity without cause

Palestinian Fatema Taha, 40, the mother of Maram, 24 and Ibrahim Taha, 16, displays a poster with their pictures and Arabic that reads, "Islamic Jihad in Palestine celebrates the martyrs of Jerusalem's uprising," at the family house, in the West Bank village of Qatana, near Ramallah, Thursday, April 28, 2016. The parents of two Palestinian siblings gunned down at a West Bank checkpoint say Israeli troops killed them without cause. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

 

QATANA, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian siblings gunned down at a West Bank checkpoint after approaching Israeli troops — with knives, according to Israel — were needlessly killed and could have been subdued without deadly force, their parents, witnesses and an Israeli lawmaker said Thursday.

Later Thursday the Israeli military said two Palestinian women attempted to stab soldiers stationed at a checkpoint in the West Bank. It said forces responded to "imminent danger" and opened fire, wounding one of the attackers, who was evacuated to hospital in Jerusalem for treatment. Both attackers were arrested, the military said.

The fatal shootings Wednesday of 24-year-old Maram Taha and her 16-year-old brother Ibrahim raise new questions about Israel's use of lethal force against knife-carrying Palestinians in recent months, said the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.

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