Palestinian killed as US warns of intifada

A Palestinian has been shot dead by an Israeli border policeman as the US warned of another intifada if Mideast peace talks fail.

Anas al-Atrash after he was killed by Israeli soldiers, Jerusalem

A Palestinian has been shot dead by an Israeli soldier as the US warned of another intifada. (AAP)

Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian near Jerusalem, Israeli police and family members say, as the United States warned of a third intifada if Middle East peace talks fail.

The police said Anas al-Atrash, 23, was shot dead when he ran at an officer with a knife at a checkpoint between the West Bank and the suburbs of east Jerusalem on Thursday night, in the second such fatality in 12 hours.

It came just hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Israel of a potential eruption of Palestinian violence unless peace talks succeed.

"The alternative to getting back to the talks is the potential of chaos," Kerry told Israeli and Palestinian television during a trip to the region aimed at putting the faltering peace process back on track.

"I mean, does Israel want a third intifada?" the US top diplomat asked, using the Arabic word for uprising.

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon rejected the notion that failure in the US-brokered talks, which were renewed in July with a nine-month deadline, would result in violence or that a solution was even possible in this timeframe.

"We are managing an open and prolonged conflict, which for the Palestinians does not end with the 1967 borders," his office quoted him as saying.

"There is no sign of compromise (from the Palestinians). We are therefore not about to solve this based on what we thought.

"We have an event that probably does not have a solution now, but it will take time. We will manage it wisely, and there is no need to fear threats of a third intifada", said Yaalon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed he would not rush to a deal with Palestinians that does not guarantee Israel's security.

"The pressure has to be put where it belongs that is on the Palestinians who refuse to budge," he said ahead of a meeting with Kerry on Friday morning.

"But I think that in any case, no amount of pressure will make me or the government of Israel compromise on the basic security interests and national interest of the state of Israel."

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Atrash was shot at the Wadi Nara checkpoint when he ran at a border policeman with a knife, prompting the officer to open fire.

"The Palestinian had a knife in his hand and a border police officer responded by firing shots at the suspect who was injured seriously and pronounced dead a short while after."

The dead man's father Fuad al-Atrash told AFP that border police "stopped my two sons at the checkpoint and they were waiting to be checked. Then the soldiers came to the car and opened the door and my son tried to get out and they shot him."

Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner said on Twitter that Atrash had published his "intent to join God" on his Facebook page a short while before his incident.

Atrash was buried in Hebron on Friday. An AFP correspondent said some 3000 people participated in the funeral, following which there were minor clashes between youths and Israeli forces in Hebron.

A few hours before Atrash's death, Israeli forces shot dead another Palestinian near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, saying he had fired a flare gun at Israelis at Tapuah Junction.

The body of the man, identified as Bashar Habaneen, 29, was handed over to Palestinians by the Israeli army on Friday morning.


Share

4 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world