Israel troops kill Palestinian farmer in West Bank

A Palestinian farmer has been killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank as the Tel Aviv regime intensifies heavy-handed tactics to curb the uprising across the occupied territories.  

Riyad Ibrahim Dar Youssef, a 46-year-old Palestinian from the al-Janiya village in western Ramallah, was pronounced dead Thursday morning a day after he was assaulted by Israeli soldiers in the volatile region. 

He was targeted on his way back home from picking olives with his family. Local residents and witness said Israeli forces beat up Dar Youssef, leaving him with critical injuries.

The administration of the Palestine Medical Center said that his condition had rapidly deteriorated after the fatal attack by the Israelis.

The village of al-Janiya is surrounded by Israeli settlements and its residents are frequently denied access by the Israeli army to their farmland. Israeli soldiers have prevented al-Janiya residents from reaching the olive groves by declaring the area as "closed military zone."

Israeli settlers have stepped up their attacks against Palestinians by uprooting trees and burning farmland in the troubled region over the past months. Attacks by extremist Israeli settlers and forces become a daily occurrence during the annual olive harvest season.

The latest death comes a day after two other Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces across the occupied territories. Tel Aviv claimed they had attempted to stab Israeli soldiers.

Latest figures show that at least 33 Palestinians have been killed in fierce clashes with Israelis over the past fortnight.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has lashed out at Israel for executing Palestinians in cold blood.

Even the United States, Israel's closest ally, has expressed serious concern about Israeli security forces' use of excessive force against Palestinians.

Israeli forces imposed more restrictions on Palestinians’ movement in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) on Thursday. Israeli soldiers blocked the entrance to several Palestinian neighborhoods and set up more roadblocks.

The fresh uprising come amid recent deadly tensions between the Tel Aviv regime and Palestinians triggered by Israel’s imposition of sweeping restrictions on entries into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds on August 26 and Israeli settlers’ repeated attacks on the mosque.

Palestinians are furious at the settler violence and a plan by Israelis to change the status quo of the al-Aqsa mosque, which is Islam’s third holiest site after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.

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