Israeli forces open fire, killing Palestinian throwing rocks

JERUSALEM - The Associated Press

Israeli forces shot and killed a 32-year-old Palestinian man early on March 23 who was hurling rocks at Israeli troops, the Palestinian health ministry and the Israeli military said.

The military said it thwarted an attack and opened fire at a number of suspects who were throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles on a highway in central West Bank, near the town of Qaliqilya. It says one of the suspects was killed while another was wounded and escaped.

Clashes often erupt in the West Bank between Israelis and Palestinians but have dipped considerably since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

In Israel, daily life has largely shut down with more than 1,200 people testing positive for the new virus. One patient has died and 24 are in serious condition.

In the West Bank, 57 cases have been diagnosed so far, the majority of them in Bethlehem. The Palestinian prime minister has ordered a lockdown and in Gaza, two cases have been diagnosed in patients who returned from Pakistan.