Israel kills Palestinian driver

Israeli soldiers rammed their jeep into a Palestinian car near the West Bank town of Nablus, then shot and killed the driver after he stepped out of the vehicle wielding an ax, Israeli media reported Monday.

Ynet initially wrote that an investigation into the early morning incident revealed that the soldiers chased the man, identified as 35-year-old Hatem Shadid, after “he raised the suspicions of troops stationed there,” before hitting his car.

But the news site later changed its story, claiming that “a Palestinian terrorist crashed his car into an army jeep,” adopting the official Israeli account of the incident.

Israeli officials said that it was Shadid who rammed his car into an Israeli jeep carrying Shin Bet agents, overturning their vehicle, then attacking them.

Ma’an news agency reported that the area where the killing occurred was declared a closed military zone, and that Palestinian medics have been refused access, so no independent investigation could be carried out.

Shadid's brother said Hatem was a construction worker with five children.

(Al-Akhbar)