Israeli forces kill Palestinian worker in occupied West Bank

Israeli soldiers opened fire on a 53-year-old Palestinian man who attempted to cross through the barrier from the occupied West Bank into Israel to reach his workplace.

A Palestinian man ducks with his bicycle through an opening in a fence between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel, as he heads back home near Qalqilya.
Reuters

A Palestinian man ducks with his bicycle through an opening in a fence between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel, as he heads back home near Qalqilya.

A Palestinian worker was shot dead by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry. 

A ministry statement said on Sunday the worker was shot while trying to cross through an Israeli separation barrier to reach his workplace inside Israel.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the man killed as Nabil Ghanem, 53, from the West Bank city of Nablus. 

Ghanem’s body is still withheld by Israeli forces at a hospital in Kefar Saba in central Israel, the statement said.

The Israeli Army Radio confirmed that soldiers had opened fire on the Palestinian man as he attempted to cross through the barrier into Israel.

Seeking jobs inside Israel 

Wages on Israeli farms and construction sites are far higher than what most Palestinian employers can pay in the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israeli since 1967.

Jobs inside Israel are highly coveted by many Palestinians. Some have permits to work in Israel while others seek to cross without authorisation. 

READ MORE: UN report urges Israel to comply with int'l law on Palestinian territories

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Holes in the wall

In 2002, under then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Israel built a separation wall on occupied Palestinian land with the aim of, what they say, "preventing Palestinian attacks inside Israel".

Thousands of Palestinians use holes in the wall to reach their workplaces in Israel to avoid crowdedness at Israeli checkpoints or due to lack of work permits in Israel. 

Tensions have recently flared again since three Palestinians, members of armed factions, were killed Friday by Israeli forces during an army raid in Jenin. 

READ MORE: Tensions high as Israelis march in occupied East Jerusalem

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