Palestinian martyred by Israeli gunfire in West Bank

By Qays Abu Samra and Zeynep Tufekci

TUBAS (AA) - A Palestinian was martyred after Israeli soldiers opened fire in the West Bank city of Tubas, local health officials said Wednesday.

Twenty-three-year-old Mohammed Basharat died after he was shot in the chest, said the officials.

According to eye witnesses, Israeli soldiers used live bullets and tear gas against Palestinians.

Officials from Israel and Palestine have not yet issued statements on the incident.

Jewish settlers frequently stage attacks on Palestinian towns and farms and their Arab inhabitants across the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

According to Palestinian figures, more than 650,000 Jewish settlers currently live on 196 settlements and more than 200 settler “outposts” scattered throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

International law regards the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all settlement-building activity there to be illegal.