Three Palestinians have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank in the last several days, prompting concerns that violence in the area is back on the rise. All three incidents took place near Ramallah and the settlement of Beit El, and all involved young Palestinians readying to throw firebombs at either IDF soldiers or settlers.
The fact that all three incidents involved firebombs and not more sophisticated weaponry may reflect the destruction of the West Bank's militant networks, and the subsequent shift to makeshift means of attack.
In the latest incident, IDF soldiers shot dead a Palestinian early Thursday as he was preparing to throw the firebomb. The IDF said he was one of three an army patrol spotted carrying firebombs under cover of darkness in the West Bank village of Kufr Malik, and he was shot when he ignored warning fire. The other two escaped.
Palestinian medics named the dead man as Aziz Yousef, 20, and said his body was handed over by Israeli officials before dawn.
Earlier Thursday, another fire bomber died in a Ramallah hospital after being shot Wednesday during what the military said was a mob attack on an army position in nearby Jelazoun refugee camp. Hospital staff named him as Mohammed Ramahi, 21.
On Tuesday, 18-year-old Abdel Kader Zeit, also from Jalazoun, was shot dead on suspicion of preparing to attack the settlement of Beit El with fire-bombs.
Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the killings. He noted that Israel has been observing a cease-fire with the Hamas militant group, which controls the Gaza Strip, and asked "why Israel is utterly unwilling to do the same in the West Bank."