Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in West Bank during rioting

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man during clashes with rioters near Hebron in the West Bank.

Imad Jawabreh, 22, died in an Israeli hospital on Tuesday after suffering bullet wounds to his chest.

He was one of about 150 Palestinian rioters who threw rocks and firebombs at Israeli soldiers and their vehicles, the Israeli military said. He reportedly was preparing to throw a pipe bomb when he was shot.

The incident occurred following Israeli media reports that additional Israeli military battalions were deployed to the West Bank to protect security on the roads in the wake of several terrorist attacks on both sides of Israel’s pre-1967 borders.

On Monday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with police and military officials to discuss security in the wake of two terrorist stabbing deaths that day — a soldier in Tel Aviv and a young woman waiting at a traffic junction in the Gush Etzion settlement in the West Bank.

At the meeting, Netanyahu ordered that a series of steps be taken, including increasing the number of security forces on the ground and moving forward on the demolition of terrorists’ homes.

On Tuesday, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who was at the meeting, called on Israelis to be alert for more terror attacks and to avoid visiting the Temple Mount in order to deescalate the situation.

“We’re in the midst of an escalation and won’t allow it to widen,” Yaalon told reporters during a visit to soldiers in the West Bank, according to the Times of Israel. He also said he would “use a strong arm, including demolishing terrorists’ houses.”

Also Tuesday, the tires of five Palestinian-owned cars were slashed in the Beit Safafa neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem. Nearby, the words “No cars, No Arabs” were spray-painted, likely in response to recent attacks by Palestinian drivers on Israelis.