Israeli forces fatally shoot Palestinian teen in West Bank, surpassing 2022 death toll
Jerusalem, Aug 4 (EFE).- Israeli forces allegedly shot dead an 18-year-old Palestinian boy during a clash in the occupied West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The killing of Mahmud Husam abu Saan in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem brings the number of dead in the conflict this year to 171 – one more than the 2022 fatalities – making it one of the deadliest periods in years.
The Palestinian health ministry said the teenager was killed in Israeli gunfire during a raid in the West Bank.
The boy was shot at point blank when Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and flash grenades at residents of the refugee camp, sparking clashes, according to the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa.”
An Israeli Army spokesperson confirmed the Nur Shams operation, alleging that “suspects fired and threw explosives and stones at the soldiers, who responded with fire.”
No Israeli soldier was injured, the spokesperson said.
Separately, Israeli forces arrested five Palestinians and confiscated weapons during raids on the villages of Bidu, Azaria and the Al Arub refugee camp.
This year has been the deadliest in the West Bank since the end of the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising between 2000 and 2005.
Some 171 Palestinians, including 30 minors, have died in the conflict this year. Most of the deceased have been identified as militants who lost their lives in gun battles with Israeli troops.
Last year, 170 Palestinians were killed in similar circumstances.
The region has witnessed the rise of new Palestinian armed groups. They frequently carry out attacks that have caused 27 Israeli deaths, most of them settlers. EFE
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