Government condemns 'execution' at West Bank checkpoint

The Palestinian foreign ministry Sunday condemned what it called Israeli forces' "execution" of a Palestinian man at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank.

The ministry slammed the "heinous execution" of Ahmad Kahla, 45, who was shot dead by troops near the village of Silwad north of Ramallah.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to AFP's requests to comment on the incident.

The man's son, Qusai Kahla, told AFP he was in the car with his father when they were stopped at the checkpoint.

"Soldiers came, pepper sprayed my face and pulled me out of the car," the 18-year-old said at the family home in Rammun village.

"I don't know what happened after that," he said. "I found out from my uncle that my dad was killed."

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported soldiers shot Kahla at "point blank" range after forcing him out of his vehicle. He died from a gunshot wound to the neck, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Kahla's death brings up to 13 the number of Palestinians killed in the territory so far this month, most shot by Israeli forces, according to an AFP tally.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said the Israeli leadership has made it "easy for soldiers to kill any Palestinian without them posing any danger to the occupation soldiers."

Israel's most right-wing government in history was sworn in last month, including ministers known for anti-Palestinian remarks who have taken over key powers in the West Bank.

This month's rising toll follows the deadliest year in the West Bank since United Nations records began in 2005.

A surge in bloodshed last year saw at least 26 Israelis and 200 Palestinians killed across Israel and the Palestinian territories, according to an AFP tally. More than 150 of the fatalities were in the West Bank.