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RAMALLAH, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Governor for Jerusalem area Adnan Al-Husseini said on Monday that the Israeli narrative of the killing of a Palestinian man by Israeli soldiers in East Jerusalem is false.
"What happened was a debate between the young man and Israeli police officers that developed into a quarrel before they opened fire on him and killed him instantly," Al-Husseini told Xinhua.
The Jerusalem governor accused Israeli forces of "murdering the young man in cold blood, obeying to high political orders to target Palestinians directly without justification."
He called for immediate international intervention "to put an end to the Israeli killing crimes."
Palestinian sources identified the young man as Ibrahim Matar, 25, from the East Jerusalem town of Jabal Al-Mukaber.
Israeli media said Israeli police stormed Matar's home and arrested four members of his family.
Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the Palestinian man ran toward two paramilitary Border Police officers near the Lions' Gate outside the Old City before dawn.
"He pulled out a knife from his pocket," she said, adding that the officers struggled with the man, fending him off, and one of the officers shot him.
In the latest wave of violence that started in September 2015, 41 Israelis and two U.S. nationals have been killed by Palestinians; Israeli security forces and civilians have killed at least 238 Palestinians, most of them alleged attackers. Israelis also killed a Jordanian tourist and two asylum seekers, one Eritrean and one Sudanese, who were mistaken to be attackers.
Israel accuses the Palestinian National Authority of "inciting" the unrest. The Palestinians say it is the result of 50 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, home to more than 5 million Palestinians.
