The US State Department has asked Israel to provide a detailed explanation of the recent "liquidation" of Palestinians in the territories, reported Haaretz newspaper.
As part of its annual survey of human rights violations, the State Department has submitted a list of names of Palestinians along with the dates they were killed and asked for information on how these people were killed, said the paper.
The request, said the paper, was received by the Israeli foreign ministry, and has been transferred to the justice ministry and defense officials for a response.
Israeli officials are concerned the State Department report on human rights violations will severely criticize Israel for the assassinations, said the paper.
The questions being posed to Israel also involve other aspects of its collective actions against Palestinians: curfews imposed on the territories, sieges on Palestinian towns, arrests of Palestinians and suspicions of excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians, said the paper.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian who was killed Sunday by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip is a member of the Islamic Jihad movement, said press reports.
The Israeli army said the man was shot dead as he was trying to sneak into Israel.
The Palestinians identified the dead man as Shadi Kahlut, 24, from al-Bureij refugee camp, where Israeli troops returned his body at dawn with bullet wounds in the stomach and legs, a Palestinian hospital source told AFP.
Earlier Sunday, Israeli military sources said he had been killed at the Kissoufim border point, near the camp, adding that it was the second time an armed Palestinian had tried to cross into Israeli from the Gaza Strip -- Albawaba.com
