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BET IZA, Sept. 25 (AP) Relatives on Sunday rejected Israeli claims that a Palestinian teacher deliberately rammed an Israeli police car before being shot dead by security forces.
The family of Mohammed Abu Kafieh, 36, said he had no reason for the attack, noting that he was a father of three who had just started a new business.
His relatives said they believed he accidentally hit a police car Saturday before the army opened fire.
“He’s not the type to attack,” said Abu Kafi’s cousin, Mohammad Nimer.
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The military said soldiers found a car trying to crash into them and then shot Abu Kafi.
Photos of the incident posted online by Palestinian media showed the front end of an Israeli police car and another with smashed.
Palestinian attackers have carried out dozens of attempted stabbings and car crashes in recent years. Palestinians and human rights groups say Israeli forces have often used excessive force and, in some cases, have shot people who did not pose a threat.
The incident, which took place near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, was the focus of the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in the occupied territories since 2015.
While mourning together in the village of Beit Iza near Jerusalem, the family told The Associated Press that Abu Kafi was a loving father who was well-liked in the community.
He mentors students and invites the community to the opening of a new business selling cell phones and accessories.
His family said he was on his way to Nablus to buy supplies for the opening of his store when he was shot.
“Today is the opening ceremony and he invited everyone,” Abu Kafi’s sister Nouha said tearfully, standing next to one of his three children. “With God as my witness, he’s not going to attack or anything, he’s looking for his livelihood and his children’s livelihood.”
Dozens of mourners gathered to pay their respects under the banner of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party. Another poster is of Abu Kafiah and Abbas’ predecessor, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, an important Islamic holy site and a recent Israeli raid on Nablus killed. Collage of gunmen linked to Fatah.
It is unclear what ties, if any, Abu Kafi has to Fatah or its armed branches. Sometimes factions claim Palestinians killed by Israel during mourning.
Niemer said the family was waiting for the army to return the body and hoped to be able to see footage from surveillance cameras at the site.
The military did not immediately respond to questions about the body on Sunday, but said it had no surveillance footage.
The Palestinian foreign ministry claims Israeli forces carried out “criminal executions”.
The Israeli army has stepped up operations in the northern West Bank since a string of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel in the spring. Several attackers were from the area.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed, making 2022 the deadliest year in the occupied territories since 2015. Most of the Palestinians killed were wanted militants or young men and teenagers who threw stones or Molotov cocktails at soldiers invading towns.
But a number of civilians, including an Al Jazeera reporter and a lawyer who unintentionally drove into the war zone, were also killed in the violence.
In a separate incident, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a suspected Palestinian gunman overnight in an arrest raid in the northern West Bank, Israel and Palestine reported.
The military said they spotted a group of armed men travelling in cars and motorcycles and opened fire during an operation near the city of Nablus.
The local militant group Lion’s Den said one of its members, Sayid al-Kuni, was killed “in a clash with the occupying forces”. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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