Israel's Hizma checkpoint, north of Jerusalem
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A 19-year-old Israeli settler was shot dead by Israeli forces
on Tuesday, after he allegedly attempted to carry out a knife attack against Israeli soldiers on the occupied East Jerusalem side of Israel's Hizma checkpoint, which leads to the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli police.
Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri said in an initial statement that a Palestinian attempted to cross "from Jerusalem to Palestinian lands," and "apparently attempted to stab a security officer" at the military checkpoint.
Israeli forces noticed the man approaching, and "immediately neutralized him without any injuries being reported among them," she said, referring to the fact that no Israeli security guards were injured in the alleged attack, and failing to confirm in clear terms that the alleged assailant was shot.
A short while later, al-Samri declared that the man succumbed to fatal gunshot injuries.
However, Israeli police then revealed that the slain main was not in fact a Palestinian, but a 19-year-old Jewish Israeli from the illegal Pisgat Zeev settlement in occupied East Jerusalem, which is adjacent to the Hizma checkpoint.
Al-Samri released another statement, describing the incident in slightly different terms, saying that the man had "approached security forces in a hurry at the Hizma checkpoint, coming from a main road from Pisgat Zeev, and was carrying an object in his hand. Forces noticed him and feeling that they were in real danger, they immediately started procedures to arrest him, ultimately neutralizing him and seizing a knife that he was carrying," she said.
Al-Samri released a photo of a pocket knife purportedly found on the young man.
The shooting represented an unprecedented case of Israeli forces taking lethal action on an Israeli, since Israel has become the target of international condemnation for implementing a "shoot-to-kill" policy on Palestinians who allegedly or actually carry out attacks, while simultaneously fostering a
“culture of impunity” for Israeli settlers and soldiers committing violent acts against Palestinians.
Numerous incidents have also laid bare
stark double standards between use of force on Jewish Israelis who do not comply with the orders of Israeli authorities, compared to Palestinians and Arabs who resist Israeli forces.
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