Palestinian killed after stabbing soldier

A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli troops on Thursday after stabbing an Israeli soldier in Yatta village in the southern West Bank, an Israeli military source said. “Palestinians attacked soldiers during an IDF (army) operation in Yatta to arrest suspects,” he said on condition of anonymity. “One soldier was injured after being stabbed in the neck and the soldiers then opened fire on the Palestinians. One Palestinian was killed and another was injured.” A source at the Abu Hassan Al Qassim hospital in Yatta confirmed the death of one Palestinian, whom he identified as Zacharia Abu Aram, adding that two others were injured. “The body of a youth in his twenties arrived at the hospital,” the source said. “He died from a gunshot wound directly to the head.” Palestinian security sources said the incident occurred after Israeli troops moved into the village to arrest several suspects. Among those targeted for arrest was Khaled Makhamreh, who was released under a prisoner swap that saw Israel free 1,027 Palestinians in exchange for the release of an Israeli soldier held captive in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian women rallied across Gaza and the West Bank on International Women’s Day on Thursday, calling for the release of a female prisoner on hunger strike in an Israeli jail. In Gaza City, around 1,000 women attended a demonstration that marched to the Red Cross headquarters to call for the release of Hanaa Al Shalabi, who has been on hunger strike for 22 days. “Yes to the immediate release of Hanaa Shalabi!” they chanted, holding pictures of the 30-year-old, who has been ordered jailed for four months without charge by an Israeli military court. Shalabi’s incarceration was also the focus of several other rallies, one at Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah and another outside the Damascus Gate in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem. Israeli troops used water cannons against the protesters and also utilised the “scream truck,” a military vehicle that emits a high-pitched noise intended to disperse demonstrations.