Palestinians say man killed during Israeli raid in West Bank

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said that soldiers entered the Deheishe refugee camp near the city of Bethlehem early on Monday, sparking clashes with residents. The soldiers then directed tear gas and opened fire at the crowd, it said.

The agency said Omar Manaa, 22, was killed while six other Palestinians were wounded. Four were arrested.

The Israeli military said soldiers entered the camp to arrest three wanted militants. It said the soldiers opened fire after the crowd hurled rocks and firebombs at them.

Palestinians later declared a general strike throughout Bethlehem, shuttering schools, businesses and government offices to protest the killing. The strike came as the city, revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, is getting ready for the busy Christmas season.

Rising Israeli-Palestinian tensions have made 2022 the deadliest year in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the long-running conflict since 2006. Further escalation appears likely, as the most right-wing and religious government in Israel’s history is poised to be installed in the coming weeks, with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returning to power.

More than 140 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian fighting this year. The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting Israeli army incursions and others not involved in confrontations have also been killed.

Monday’s deadly shooting came against the backdrop of months of Israeli arrest raids in the West Bank, prompted by a spate of Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the spring that killed 19 people. The military says the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks, but the Palestinians say they entrench Israel’s open-ended occupation, now in its 56th year. A recent wave of Palestinian attacks against Israeli targets killed an additional nine people.