Deadly West Bank attacks follow Israeli raid on Al-Aqsa

A Palestinian man and an Israeli guard have been killed in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank after Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man overnight on Friday in the north of the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Yahya Adwan, 27, was shot in the chest during an Israeli army operation in the town of Azzun, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a guard was attacked at the entrance of the Ariel settlement, the Israeli army said, adding that they were pursuing the perpetrators.

Hamas, the Palestinian movement that governs the Gaza Strip, hailed the killing as an “heroic operation”, with spokesman Hazem Qassem declaring it a response to the “attacks on Al-Aqsa,” Islam’s third holiest site, which has been one of the focal points for weeks of violence.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 42 people had been injured on Friday morning at the compound, Islam’s third holiest site. The Western Wall of the compound is sacred to Jews.

The unrest, which came on the final Friday in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, left those injured suffering “upper-body injuries”, said the Red Crescent.

An AFP journalist said Israeli police fired rubber-coated bullets while witnesses said they also used tear gas.

An uneasy calm had been restored at the compound following the unrest that surrounded morning prayers, but tensions remained high.

In the early afternoon, a crowd of Muslim worshippers gathered at Al-Aqsa. Some people waved Palestinian flags and the colours of Hamas, an AFP journalist said.

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