JERUSALEM: Israeli police shot and killed a Palestinian man in occupied East Jerusalem Thursday.
The Palestinian health ministry said the man, identified as Mohammed Obeid, 20, died of his injuries.
Israeli police claimed Obeid had set off fireworks at officers during unspecified "police operations" in the Issawiya neighborhood.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said that Palestinians had clashed with the police who had entered Issawiya.
Four other Palestinians were injured, it said, adding that Obeid had served time in Israeli prison in the past.
"He was shot, injured critically as a result of firing fireworks directly at officers putting them in a life-threating situation," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Rosenfeld said that fireworks, lashed together in bundles and fired from a tube, were often fired at Israeli security forces.
"Within a certain range, they're life-threatening," he said.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said that Palestinians had clashed with the police who had entered Issawiya.
Four other Palestinians were injured, it said, adding that Obeid had served time in Israeli prison in the past.
*With AFP
