RAMALLAH, October 29, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli soldiers manning a checkpoint near the town of Silwad, east of Ramallah, shot and injured early Saturday a Palestinian claiming he attempted to attack them, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.

Local reports said soldiers opened fire at a Palestinian who was identified as Ahmad Hamed from Silwad and injured him before taking him away.

Israeli military claimed the man attempted to run over soldiers near Ofra settlement, northwest of Ramallah, and then he attempted to stab a soldier before he was shot. There no reports of injuries among the Israeli soldiers.

An attorney for the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said Hamed’s situation was stable after he underwent surgery at Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem.

Mufeed el-Haj said Hamed was shot by three bullets, one in the right leg, one in the stomach and the third in the right shoulder causing rupture in the lung and fractured rips. The bullet settled in the liver, he said.

Israel has been criticized for its excessive use of lethal force and “extrajudicial killings” against alleged Palestinian attackers even though they no longer pose an immediate threat. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that circumstances surrounding such killings over the past months remain disputed.

Various international, Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations have slammed Israel’s policy of “extrajudicial killings” against Palestinians.

Video footage for similar alleged attacks appear to refute Israeli military claims, showing alleged Palestinian attackers did not even attempt to carry out any attacks. Some footage showed Israeli forces manipulating the crime scene following such killings.

K.F./M.A.