Palestinian left paralysed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank

Israeli military says investigation launched into incident during eviction from 'illegal building'

Israeli soldiers take aim to disperse Palestinians protesting the expansion of settlements near the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on December 25, 2020. / AFP / JAAFAR ASHTIYEH
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A Palestinian man was paralysed from the neck down after being shot by the Israeli army during clashes in the occupied West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The ministry said the man was shot through the neck.

Palestinian sources had earlier reported that Haroun Rasmi Abu Aram, 24, had been wounded in the village of Al Tuwanah, south of Hebron.

The man had been attempting to prevent the troops from "stealing an electric generator" that belonged to him, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israeli rights group B'Tselem said Abu Aram was helping a neighbour to build a house at the time of the shooting.

The Israeli military said that a number of Palestinians had attacked troops who were conducting a routine operation to evacuate an "illegal building" and they had fired into the air in response.

It said the incident was being investigated.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its settlements in the area are regarded as illegal by much of the international community.

But the settler population has grown in recent years.

There are currently about 450,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, living among an estimated 2.8 million Palestinians.

Tensions between the two communities have repeatedly led to violence.