The brother of a Palestinian teen who died in unclear circumstances in October was among three Palestinians - including one suspected attacker - killed by Israeli fire on Friday, authorities said.
The bloodshed is the latest in almost three months of near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israelis and other Israeli-Palestinian violence.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Oday Ersheid, 22, was killed by live fire in Hebron. His sister Dania died in October in a case cited by Amnesty International as a possible extrajudicial killing.
The Israeli army said Ersheid died during a riot in which hundreds of Palestinians attacked forces by hurling stones and firebombs and rolling burning tires toward troops. The military said forces tried to disperse the riot with nonlethal means before firing “towards inciting characters.”
“I say to all the people, don't cry,” Jihad Ersheid told local media after identifying his son's body. “Pray, fast, and instead of crying, cry over our situation. The martyr is with God.”
Hundreds of mourners gathered Friday to bury Oday Ersheid next to his sister, Dania, who was killed in October after Israeli police said the 17-year-old pulled out a knife and screamed at Israeli troops, who opened fire. Amnesty, citing unidentified witnesses, said she was shot as she raised her hands during a security check, yelling at border police that she did not have a knife.
Also Friday, the military said troops shot and killed a Palestinian man who attempted to ram his car into Israeli security forces near Hebron. The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the man as Issa Hroub, 55, from the nearby village of Deir Samet. There were no Israeli injuries and the military did not specify how close the driver came to the troops.
A third Palestinian died Friday in clashes with Israeli troops on the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, according to Gaza health officials. The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified him as Sami Madi, in his 30s. The Israeli military said troops used nonlethal means in an attempt to disperse hundreds of Palestinians trying to damage the fence before forces fired at the crowd.
Earlier, a Palestinian gunman opened fire at soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint before he was wounded and fled the scene, according to the Israeli defense ministry. There were no Israelis injured in the attack at the Gilboa crossing near Jenin, according to ministry spokeswoman Arielle Heffez. She said Israeli forces were searching for the suspect who fled in a van.
In the central West Bank, Israel arrested on Friday a Palestinian suspected of ramming his vehicle into a group of soldiers the previous day near the settlement of Beit Arieh. The military identified the suspect as Mahmad Abd El Halim Abd El Hamid Salam. The Shin Bet intelligence agency said Salam is a member of Hamas from the West Bank village of Luban and that he admitted to carrying out the attack.
Since mid-September, Palestinians have killed 19 Israelis. At least 112 Palestinians have died by Israeli fire; 75 of them said by Israel to be attackers while the others died in clashes with security forces.
Israel blames incitement by political and religious leaders for the violence. Palestinians say the attacks stem from despair at achieving statehood.
