Palestinian man dies after being shot in the head by Israeli forces in West Bank

A Palestinian man was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The man sustained a gunshot wound to the head by Israeli fire in the northern village of Beita and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Nablus, the ministry said in a statement.

Beita is the scene of regular demonstrations against illegal Jewish settlement expansion, with residents demonstrating since May against the wildcat settlement outpost of Eviatar set up nearby without Israeli permission.

The Israeli army said it was "aware" of reports of the death of a Palestinian, alleging that a "riot was instigated in the area of the Givat Eviatar outpost, south of Nablus".

Today, Israeli occupation forces shot and killed Palestinian man Jamil AbuAyyash while he was protesting land expropriation in Beita town in the occupied West Bank. #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/jqr0M9iTTz

— V PALESTINE 🇵🇸 (@V_Palestine20) December 10, 2021

Rights groups have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of using "unnecessary and excessive force" and carrying out extrajudicial killings against Palestinians.

The impunity of Israeli forces who use excessive force against Palestinians has been a contentious issue in recent years.

The highest profile case has been that of Israeli soldier Elor Azaria, who received a 14-month prison sentence in September 2017 for manslaughter after shooting 21-year-old Abdul Fatah al-Sharif in the head as he lay wounded on the ground, killing him.

Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, about 475,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, which is home to more than 2.8 million Palestinians. Their settlements are deemed illegal by the UN and much international community.