Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian at checkpoint
Israeli soldiers have shot dead one Palestinian and wounded two others early Monday at a checkpoint near East Jerusalem, Palestinian medical and security sources say.
The victim, 40-year-old Akram Dair from a village in the West Bank near Ramallah, was driving in a car with two other Palestinians when border guards opened fire on them, the sources said.
The wounded Palestinians were taken to a hospital in Ramallah.
Palestinian security officials said they were apparently trying to enter Jerusalem to seek work illegally.
West Bank Palestinians do not have the right to enter Israeli territory, including East Jerusalem which was annexed by the Jewish state, without a permit from the Israeli authorities.
An army spokesman confirmed to AFP that an “incident” had occurred on a road leading from the West Bank to Jerusalem but could not give details.
East Jerusalem was won by Israel during the June 1967 war and then annexed, a move that has never been recognised by the international community.
The Palestinians want to make East Jerusalem the capital of their state but this is rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
