Israel kills Palestinian man after morning prayers in West Bank

Israel kills Palestinian man after morning prayers in West Bank
Israeli forces shot and killed Salah Sawafta, 58, an unarmed Palestinian man from the occupied West Bank city of Tubas after he left a mosque following morning prayers.
2 min read
19 August, 2022
The mayor of Tubas, Hossam Daraghmeh, said Salah Sawafta had been leaving dawn prayers when he was shot [Getty]

A man was shot dead by occupying Israeli forces in the northern West Bank after leaving morning prayers at a mosque.

Salah Sawafta, 58, was shot in the head in the  city of Tubas on Friday morning, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

He was treated by the emergency services before being taken to hospital where his condition was described as serious.

Hours later, the Palestinian Health Ministry pronounced him dead.

The mayor of Tubas, Hossam Daraghmeh, said Sawafta had been leaving dawn prayers when he was shot.

"He left the mosque and was heading to his house wearing a prayer robe. There was a malicious soldier stationed in a building near the municipality who shot him in the head," he said.

Daraghmeh said Sawafta was completely unarmed.

"This man did not have a stone or anything in his hand," he said.

Israeli soldiers also shot a young man with a live round bullet in the thigh in Tubas.

Meanwhile, Palestinians were detained during widespread raids across the occupied West Bank throughout Thursday evening and Friday morning.

Five Palestinians, including a university student, were arrested in Tubas, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society.

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In Jenin, heavily-armed soldiers by the Za'tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, stopped and detained two young men from the town of Qabatiya, to the south of Jenin.

A man was detained in the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan after he was stopped at the Al-Jib checkpoint.

Palestinians in the West Bank face daily intimidation, violence, and restrictions on day-to-day activity from settlers and Israeli forces, who in recent weeks have stepped up deadly raids on towns and cities across the occupied Palestinian territory.