Israeli soliders shot civilian Palestinian

Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip shot dead a Palestinian in traditional Arab dress as he approached a checkpoint outside a Jewish settlement yesterday.

Israeli military sources said the Palestinian entered a security zone set up to protect a Jewish settlement and ignored calls to halt and warning shots fired in the air.

They said soldiers opened fire and hit the Palestinian when he was about 50m from their checkpoint.

Palestinian medics said the unidentified man, in his 30s, was wearing a traditional Arab dress that marked him as a civilian. They said they suspected he was mentally ill.