West News Wire: During a raid in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, near the city of Jenin, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian teenager.
The 18-year-old was killed by live bullets “to the abdomen” in the village of Kafr Dan, according to a statement from the Palestinian health ministry. He is the eighth Palestinian to die this week at the hands of Israeli soldiers.
Early on Friday, Israeli forces entered a number of homes in the town, sparking clashes with local Palestinians who were then shot at with live bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs.
The victim was named Abdullah Abu Hasan by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organisation, which claimed he was a local combatant with its al-Quds Brigades military branch.
The Israeli military said soldiers opened fire at suspects who shot and hurled an explosive device at them during a weapons search operation in Kafr Dan. “A hit was identified,” it said in a statement.
Violence in the occupied West Bank has surged for more than a year with increased Israeli military raids, inscreased settler assaults on Palestinian villages, and a spate of Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis.
According to the rights organisation Defence for Children International Palestine, three Palestinians were killed on Tuesday during a military raid on Jenin, including a 15-year-old who was shot by Israeli special forces when he spotted them as he was leaving his grandfather’s home.
According to the UN, 2023 will be the bloodiest year for Palestinians since it began keeping track of fatalities in 2006.
According to the health ministry, Israeli fire has claimed the lives of over 200 Palestinians since the year’s beginning. During the same time period, Palestinian attacks have also claimed the lives of at least 35 Israelis.
United States-sponsored statehood talks broke down in 2014, and current diplomatic efforts appear to be concentrated on helping Israel and Saudi Arabia reach a historic agreement.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, President Mahmoud Abbas said Middle East peace was attainable only when Palestinians achieve “their full rights”. He called on the UN to convene a peace conference to “salvage the two-state solution”.
