JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man who fired on them as they searched for concealed weapons in the West Bank city of Hebron, the Israeli army said.
An army special operations unit was using soldiers disguised as Palestinians in the search on Wednesday evening when the incident occurred. The soldiers had planned to arrest a Palestinian arms dealer living in Hebron when confronted with the armed man, the Israel Defense Forces said.
“Forces encountered an armed Palestinian who opened fire. In response to the immediate threat, forces fired towards the suspect,” the IDF said in a statement.
The Palestinian Maan news agency identified the man as Iyad Munir Arafat Ghaith, 23, of Hebron. It is not clear whether he died where he was shot or in a Palestinian hospital in Hebron.
No Israeli soldiers were injured in the incident.
After the shooting, the soldiers reportedly continued on to find their original target.
