An Israeli settler shot and critically wounded a young Palestinian man after he allegedly attempted to attack him between the West Bank village of Sair and the illegal Gush Etzion settlement bloc on Sunday morning, Palestinian security sources said.
Locals said seven other Palestinians were shot and injured by Israeli forces during a raid into the nearby village of Sair following the incident, Ma’an news agency reported.
The Palestinian man, identified by security sources as 20-year-old Azzam Azmi Shalalda from Sair, was reportedly shot four times and taken to Al-Ahli Hospital in Al-Khalil in critical condition.
The 58-year-old settler, who was lightly injured during the incident, told Israel’s Channel 10 that he had been driving outside the settlement when stones were thrown at his car.
He alleged that when he got out of his car, Shalalda attempted to stab him. He said he then took his gun from the car and opened fire.
A spokesperson for Hadassah hospital in Ein Kerem said that the settler had received a light “stab” wound to his chest, and had possibly been hit with a stone in his head.
However, Palestinian witnesses said that they believed the alleged Palestinian attacker fled the scene unharmed and that Shalalda had been working in agricultural fields when he was shot.
An Israeli army spokesperson claimed that the Israeli was “attacked” by a suspected Palestinian after he stepped out of his car to confront a group of Palestinians who were allegedly throwing stones at passing vehicles.
