WEST BANK: Israeli troops kill would-be bomber at West Bank checkpoint, the Israeli army said

Record ID: 357282

  • Title: WEST BANK: Israeli troops kill would-be bomber at West Bank checkpoint, the Israeli army said
  • Date: 20th May 2008
  • Summary: SOLDIERS DISTANCING PALESTINIANS (BN15) NABLUS, WEST BANK (MAY 19, 2008) (REUTERS) AMBULANCE ARRIVING AT HOSPITAL
  • Embargoed: 4th June 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA5W7DEF4DJ4LU3WMWQDV8TCHDW
  • Story Text: KIsraeli troops shot dead an apparent would-be Palestinian suicide bomber at a checkpoint near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Monday (May 19), the Israeli army said.
    An Israeli military spokeswoman said troops ordered a man acting suspiciously at the Hawara checkpoint to stop but shot him when he lowered his hands in an apparent attempt to blow himself up.
    The spokeswoman said army sappers later detonated five pipe bombs which were placed inside the belt in a controlled explosion at the scene of the shooting.
    An Israeli female soldier involved in the incident told reporters that it was clear to her that the man was intending to attack the checkpoint.
    A Palestinian man, who witnessed the shooting, told Reuters Television what he saw.

    "The soldiers asked some guy to take off his shirt, he pulled up his shirt and they opened fire at him. He fell on the ground and for half an hour they did not let anyone to get near him. Not even the ambulance. They told everyone to stand back at least 50 metres," Ahmed said.
    A Palestinian security source in Nablus said the dead individual was a 16-year-old youth from the village of Beit Furik near the city. Other details were not immediately available.
    Israeli troops later entered the village to search for the house of the attacker's family, local residents said.
    Israel frequently carries out strikes and raids in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip aimed at stopping rocket fire into nearby towns and agricultural communities in southern Israel.
    Clashes and attacks are not as frequent in the West Bank, where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction holds sway.
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