Israeli forces shoot, kill 4 Palestinians in occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip

Israeli military forces have shot dead four Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip amid ongoing tensions between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters in the occupied territories over the recent decision by US President Donald Trump to recognize Israeli-occupied Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of the Tel Aviv regime.

Palestinian sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli military forces shot dead a Palestinian at Beit El checkpoint north of the central West Bank city of al-Bireh, located 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) north of Jerusalem al-Quds, on Friday afternoon for allegedly carrying out a stabbing attack, Arabic-language al-Aqsa television network reported.

An Israeli trooper was injured in the purported assault.

The second Palestinian, identified as Basil Ismail, was killed during clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops in a town northeast of Jerusalem al-Quds.

Another Palestinian protester, identified as Yasir Soker, 32, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Gaza's Shejaiyah district. 

A wheelchair-bound man with no legs also succumbed to his injuries suffered during clashes with Israeli troops in Gaza. Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, 29, had lost his legs during the 2008 Israeli aggression that killed hundreds of Palestinians in the coastal sliver.

The development came as separate clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers across the occupied West Bank following Friday noon prayers.

The skirmishes broke out in Ramallah, al-Khalil (Hebron), Qalqilya and Bethlehem, according to local sources.

In the besieged Gaza Strip, hundreds marched after the Friday prayers on the Salah al-Dein highway, which goes from the northern borders of the Gaza Strip towards the southern borders with Egypt.

“We will not make any compromise on our interests or our religion. Our main project is the liberation of all Palestine. Our battle will continue until the full liberation of Palestine. This is the promise of God,” Mahmoud Zahar, a senior leader of the Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said about 400 Palestinians were injured in the clashes.

Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital and relocate the US embassy in the occupied lands from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds on December 6.

The dramatic shift in Washington’s Jerusalem al-Quds policy triggered demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco and other Muslim countries.

On Sunday, violent clashes erupted outside the US embassy in the Lebanese capital city of Beirut during a protest against the US president’s decision. Demonstrators burnt tires as well as the US and Israeli flags as they pushed to break through a barbed wire erected by security forces around the embassy complex.

Security forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the angry protesters. 

Jerusalem al-Quds remains at the core of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, with Palestinians hoping that the eastern part of the city would eventually serve as the capital of a future independent Palestinian state.

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