Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian trying to cross security fence

Israeli soldiers on Sunday shot dead a Palestinian who attempted to cross the security fence between Israel and the occupied West Bank without permits, reported Xinhua, quoting Israeli army.

The army wrote on Twitter that the troops noticed him trying to cross the fence outside the village of Khirbet Jabara near the West Bank city of Tulkarm.

"The force fired at him in accordance with arrest procedures," it said.

The suspect was taken to the Sheba Hospital outside Israel's coastal city of Tel Aviv, where he died of his wounds, according to Israel's state-owned Kan TV news.

The Hebrew-language Ha'aretz newspaper reported that he was a resident of the Gaza Strip who entered Israel in 2019 to seek medical care and has not returned to Gaza ever since.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement that Israeli security forces have launched a large-scale operation to arrest Palestinians who stayed in Israel without permits.

"An entire industry has developed around the smuggling, transportation and employment of the people present in Israel illegally," he said.

On Thursday, two men crossed into Israel "illegally" and carried out an attack in central Israel, killing three and wounding four others.

Palestinians have been under a virtual state of Israeli siege since Tuesday, as all the crossings into Israel from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been closed since Tuesday. On Saturday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced that the closure will be prolonged until Monday because of the recent attack.