Israeli soldiers kill unarmed disabled Palestinian

JENIN: Israeli troops shot dead an unarmed mentally handicapped Palestinian during a raid on a West Bank refugee camp on Tuesday, which marked the fourth anniversary of the Palestinian uprising or intifada.

Residents called the operation the biggest in the Jenin area in almost a year and said hundreds of troops had commandeered rooftops and were conducting house-to-house searches. An Israeli military source said the soldiers were searching for militants and explosives in the Jenin refugee camp.

The army put the refugee camp under curfew overnight and witnesses said soldiers shot a Palestinian as he came out of a house. Medics said he died of a bullet wound to the chest.

The Israeli military source said the soldiers started shooting after the Palestinian, known locally to have a history of mental problems, climbed a fence and approached troops. “The soldiers called to him three times to stop. He continued to walk towards the troops and they fired at him,” the source said, adding that no weapon was found on his body.

Meanwhile, Palestinian militants fired four makeshift rockets at a town in southern Israel but they caused no casualties or damage, police said.

Three rockets hit Sderot, just across the border from the Gaza Strip, and several residents had to be treated for shock. A fourth hit a road close to a nearby kibbutz.

Palestinian militants frequently fire improvised rockets on southern Israel but they only caused deaths once last June when two Israelis were killed in Sderot.

At least 3,070 Palestinians and 940 Israelis have been killed since the intifada broke out after then opposition leader, now prime minister, Ariel Sharon, visited the disputed Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on September 28, 2000. reuters

Home | National