Israeli occupation forces today shot dead a Palestinian woman after they opened fire at her while she was crossing an Israeli military checkpoint near the village of Husan, to the west of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, according to The Ministry of Health.
The Ministry said that Israeli occupation forces opened fire on the woman — identified as Ghada Ibrahim Sabatien—while she was crossing a military checkpoint near the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem, Palestine’s official Wafa news agency reported.
The victim, aged in her 40s, died at a hospital in the West Bank city of Beit Jala where she was taken for treatment, after suffering massive blood loss from a torn artery, the ministry said.
The Israeli military claimed that its troops fired warning shots into the air when the woman approached them, before they “fired towards the suspect’s lower body.”
The woman, a widowed mother of six, was then transferred to the Red Crescent for treatment, the Israeli military said, adding that it was investigating the incident.
Sabatien’s martyrdom drew widespread condemnations on social media platforms, where her death was described as horrid and shameful. Some posts called upon Palestinians to hold on to their rights and confront the Israeli aggression.
Prime Minister, Mohammed Shtayyeh, in a statement condemned the Israeli army killing of the woman, holding the Israeli entity fully responsible for the consequences of this heinous crime.
He stressed that the occupation’s soldiers won’t stop their terrorist practices and shooting at civilians, which have resulted in the killing of numerous Palestinians, including women and the elderly.
“The organized state terrorism practiced by Israel requires international human rights organizations to condemn it and take the necessary measures to halt it,” said Shtayyeh.
The European Union expressed shock at the Israeli army’s killing of the Palestinian woman in Bethlehem. “Horrified by the killing of a Palestinian woman by ISF near Bethlehem. Our deepest condolences to her family. Such excessive use of lethal force against an unarmed civilian is unacceptable. This incidence must be swiftly investigated and the perpetrators be brought to justice,” said the EU in a tweet tonight.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
