UPDATE – Unarmed Palestinian woman shot dead by Israeli forces in Bethlehem

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS; CHANGES HEADLINE

By Qais Abu Samra

BETHLEHEM, Palestine (AA) – An unarmed Palestinian woman was shot dead by Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Sunday, according to the Health Ministry.

A ministry statement said that the woman, 35, was shot by Israeli forces and died from her wounds.

According to eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers opened fire on the woman while walking near Husan village, west of Bethlehem, and was rushed to hospital where she breathed her last.

The state news agency Wafa identified the woman as Ghada Ibrahim Sbatein, a mother of six.

The Israeli army said the Palestinian woman had approached Israeli soldiers “in a suspicious manner.”

A military spokesperson confirmed that the woman was unarmed.

“The force opened fire as part of a suspect arrest procedure that included firing into the air. After she did not stop, the soldiers fired at her lower body,” the army said in a statement.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned the woman’s killing as “state terrorism”.

“The (Israeli) occupation soldiers do not stop their terrorist practices of shooting unarmed civilians,” Shtayyeh said in a statement, going on to hold Israeli authorities responsible for the current escalation in the Palestinian territories.

“The organized state terrorism by Israel requires the international rights’ organizations to condemn it and to work on stopping it,” he added.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar