Israeli border police shot dead a Palestinian at a checkpoint near Jerusalem, Israeli police and family members said today, in the second fatal shooting by Israeli forces in 12 hours.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the incident occurred around midnight (2730 IST), when a man ran at a border police officer with a knife, prompting him to open fire.
"A Palestinian who arrived at the area ran out of a vehicle toward border police who were there on patrol," Rosenfeld said.
"The Palestinian had a knife in his hand and a border police officer responded by firing shots at the suspect who was injured seriously and pronounced dead a short while after."
Family members named him as Anas al-Atrash, 23, from the southern West Bank city of Hebron and said the incident occurred at Wadi Nara checkpoint between Abu Dis and Bethlehem.
"They stopped my two sons at the checkpoint and they were waiting to be checked. Then the soldiers came to the car and opened the door and my son tried to get out and they shot him," his father, Fuad al-Atrash told AFP, referring to the border police.
The brother was arrested, he added.
Yesterday night, Israeli forces shot dead another Palestinian near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, saying he had "opened fire with large fireworks.
