Israeli soldiers open fire after car fails to stop in the West Bank, killing 1

[News_Editor]

Israeli soldiers open fire after car fails to stop in the West Bank, killing 1

2011-11-11 22:04:03 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- Israeli soldiers opened fire on a speeding car in the West Bank on early Friday morning after the driver ignored repeated calls to stop his vehicle, officials said. The driver was identified as an Israeli citizen.

The incident happened at around 5.30 a.m. local time when Israeli soldiers detected a vehicle driving suspiciously near Beit Hagai, an Israeli settlement in the southern Hebron hills in the West Bank. A temporary crossing was established nearby to stop the vehicle.

"Soldiers present at the crossing then identified the vehicle, driving at them suspiciously at high speed," a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. "The vehicle failed to comply with the soldiers' calls to halt. A soldier felt his life was in danger; he then fired at the vehicle, which deviated to the side of the road."

A 55-year-old Israeli citizen was killed as a result of the shooting, while two others suffered light to moderate injuries. IDF Major-General Avi Mizrahi ordered an immediate investigation into the incident, but it was not immediately clear why the driver refused to stop his vehicle.

Shortly after the shooting incident, a truck driving in the opposite direction accidentally struck one of the Israeli soldiers who were manning the temporary crossing. IDF officials said the truck driver did not notice the soldier, who sustained minor injuries.

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