People hold Hamas flags as Palestinians gather after performing the last Friday of Ramadan to protest over the possible eviction of several Palestinian families from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in Jerusalem’s Old City, May 7, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

i24 News – A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces in the West Bank on Saturday, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The ministry said Rabi Arafah Rabi, 32, was hit by “a bullet to the head” at a checkpoint southeast of the city of Qalqilya.

The Israeli military said troops had fired on a vehicle carrying three people suspected of trying to enter Israel illegally after it failed to stop for inspection and instead moved off, hitting a soldier.

The soldier did not require medical attention, the army added.

Israel’s military said troops opened fire after the vehicle hit the soldier and that it was aware of a man being hurt by the gunfire. It is unclear if Rabi was the driver or a passenger.

The military said it was searching for additional suspects and would continue to investigate the incident.

Earlier on Saturday, police said officers “neutralized” a Palestinian stabbing suspect in east Jerusalem after an attack that left an Israeli man in serious condition.

“The suspect stabbed a passer-by with a knife and fled” the scene north of the Old City, police said.

Following a brief manhunt, the suspect was “neutralized” in east Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, police said, without immediately elaborating on his condition or identity.

Violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has surged in recent months, amid an uptick in anti-Israeli attacks and near-daily raids by Israeli forces in the West Bank.

More than 115 Palestinian fighters and civilians have been killed this year, the heaviest toll in the West Bank for nearly seven years, according to the United Nations.