April 10 (UPI) — Israeli soldiers shot and killed an unarmed Palestinian woman in the West Bank town of Husan on Sunday morning, officials said.
The Israeli army said the woman approached soldiers “in a suspicious manner,” failing to comply with their demands.
“The force opened fire as part of a suspect arrest procedure that included firing into the air. After she did not stop, the soldiers fired at her lower body,” the Israel Defense Forces said.
Footage from the scene showed the woman raising her hands as she moved toward a makeshift checkpoint in the village near Bethlehem as the soldiers fired at her, causing her to fall down.
The woman, identified as Ghada Ibrahim Ali Sabateen, a 47-year-old widowed mother of six, was administered first aid by Israeli forces at the scene before being evacuated to a hospital where she died of blood loss from a torn artery in her thigh. A military representative later confirmed she was unarmed.
Authorities also arrested a Palestinian man who allegedly threatened to stab an Israeli man near the Barkan industrial zone in the West Bank.
Rescuers Without Borders said the Israeli man was slightly hurt in the incident.
