RAMALLAH, 04 January 2021, (TON): A Palestinian man was paralysed from the neck down after being shot by the Israeli army on Friday in the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The man was shot through the neck, the ministry said in a statement.

Palestinian sources had earlier reported the wounding of 24-year-old Haroun Rasmi Abu Aram in the village of Al-Tuwanah, south of Hebron.

The man had been attempting to prevent the troops from “stealing an electric generator” that belonged to him, according to the Palestinian media reports.

Witnesses confirmed the incident was triggered when Israeli forces tried to stop Palestinians building a house in a village in southern Hebron and seized an electricity generator belonging to Abu Aram.

An investigation into the incident was under way, the Israeli army added.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its settlements in the area are regarded as illegal by much of the international community. The Palestinians claim the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with a capital in East Jerusalem, for a future state. They say the growing settler population in the West Bank has made it increasingly difficult to achieve independence.