Ramallah, Palestine (Antara/Anadolu-OANA) - A Palestinian man was martyred Thursday in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The man was shot dead by Israeli soldiers at the northern entrance to the city of Al-Bireh.
The health ministry said in a press statement that Ahmad Abbassi, 21, was killed by Israeli soldiers` gunfire near the Israeli settlement of Beit Al north of Ramallah in the West Bank.
The statement said the man "had been shot dead by Israeli soldiers in cold blood," adding that Abbassi was a resident of the neighborhood of Ras el-Amoud in east Jerusalem.
The reason for the attack is unknown, while the identity of the Palestinian has yet to be revealed.
However, the Israeli army said in a statement that a car stormed an Israeli army checkpoint in the area of Ramallah, and the soldiers at the checkpoint opened fire on the car and killed its driver.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli media said that unknown militants opened fire near the settlement of Ofra east of Ramallah, adding that no injuries were reported.
Palestinian eyewitnesses said that, after the shooting attack, the Israeli army shut down all the roads that lead to the towns and the villages in the area of eastern Ramallah and prevented traffic from entering the area.
Since early December, the Israeli army had shot and killed seven Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, claiming it as its "undivided and eternal capital" -- a move never recognized by the international community.
Palestinians hope that East Jerusalem might one day serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders.
(U.C003)
(T.C003/C/C003/T008) 21-12-2018 14:00:56
Reporter: Antara/Anadolu
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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