Israel Detains Elderly Palestinian Woman for Allegedly Intending to Carry out Attack

Israeli soldiers stand behind concrete blocks at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank. Photo: Tamar Fleishman, PC, file)

Israeli forces detained a 60-year-old Palestinian woman near the village of Nilin in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah on Saturday amid unclear circumstances, as Israeli forces suspected that she was intending to carry out a stabbing attack.

According to witness testimonies, Israeli soldiers had opened live ammunition on the woman, injuring her, after suspecting her of intending to carry out a stabbing attack when she walked close to where the soldiers were stationed at an Israeli checkpoint.

However, others said that the soldiers had only opened live ammunition in the air, and the woman passed out on the ground before she was detained.

The woman has yet to be identified. No one reported seeing a knife on the woman.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that the incident was not under the army’s jurisdiction. An Israeli police spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.

Palestinians are often killed or detained for alleged attacks. However, these cases have often been challenged, as Palestinians and rights groups have noted that Israeli forces tend to accuse Palestinians of attempted attacks even when the evidence is dubious.

According to Ma’an documentation, 54 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis since the beginning of the year, 14 of whom have been killed since July 14 during attacks, alleged attacks, or in clashes following protests against Israeli security measures at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Since the beginning of 2017, 13 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians, nine of whom were uniformed Israeli officers.

Palestinians have often cited the daily frustrations and routine Israeli military violence imposed by Israel’s nearly half century occupation of the Palestinian territory as main drivers for actual political attacks on Israelis.

(Ma’an, PC, Social Media)

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