Palestinian killed after trying to steal weapon from IDF soldier near Jordan crossing

The man was crossing into the West Bank from Jordan when the incident occurred. Soldiers nearby reacted to his attempt to steal the soldier's rifle and shot him dead.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, YASSER OKBI
IDF soldiers at the Allenby Bridge crossing near the border with Jordan. (photo credit: REUTERS)
IDF soldiers at the Allenby Bridge crossing near the border with Jordan.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A Palestinian man was killed on Monday after he tried to seize the weapon of an IDF soldier near the Allenby terminal crossing between Israel and Jordan.
The man was crossing into the West Bank from Jordan when the incident occurred. Soldiers nearby reacted to his attempt to steal the soldier's rifle and shot him dead.
As a result of the incident, the Allenby terminal was shut down for a few hours Monday morning. It has since resumed activities.
The Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank city of Ramallah condemned what it called the "shooting at close range" by Israeli troops, and it demanded an investigation.
A statement from Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah's office identified the man as Raed Alaa el-Deen Za'eiter, 38, a West Bank-born judge working in Jordan.
An Israeli military official said the military were checking the reports about the man's identity.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh met an Israeli diplomat in Amman after the incident and condemned the killing, Jordan's state news agency Petra reported. Judeh called on Israel to investigate and to inform Jordan of the result. The two countries signed a peace treaty in 1994.
Two weeks ago, Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian they were seeking to arrest in the West Bank town of Bir Zeit.
Last month, Amnesty International published a report which said Israeli forces were using excessive violence in the West Bank, killing dozens of Palestinians over the past three years in what the rights group said might constitute a war crime.
The Israeli army dismissed the criticism, saying security forces had seen a substantial increase in Palestinian violence.

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Reuters contributed to this report.