Palestinian teen killed in Israeli West Bank raid
Jerusalem, May 1 (EFE).- A Palestinian boy was killed during clashes that broke out after Israeli forces raided a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials confirmed on Monday.
The 17-year-old, identified as Jibril Mohammed al-Ladda, suffered a fatal shot to the head in the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp in the city of Jericho, the Palestinian health ministry said. Six more Palestinians were wounded, three of them critically.
An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed an arrest operation in the camp, claiming the Israeli soldiers had come under fire by armed Palestinians before they shot back.
Three Palestinians were arrested and one weapon was confiscated, the spokesperson added. No injuries were reported among the Israeli troops.
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, clashes broke out after numerous Israeli soldiers stormed the refugee camp and surrounded several houses there.
The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned “in the strongest terms the bloody and barbaric raid committed by the occupation forces this morning in Aqabat Jaber camp in Jericho.”
Israeli forces have continued to close several entrances to Jericho for the 10th consecutive day, causing heavy traffic while reviewing documents and searching cars of inhabitants at checkpoints.
The Israeli army also conducted incursions in the West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Beit Jala, leaving a Palestinian seriously injured and a man arrested, according to Wafa.
Clashes with Palestinian militias erupted during that operation near Beit Jala hospital, in which Wafa said Israeli forces had opened fire and threw teargas canisters and smoke bombs.
A total of 20 Palestinians were arrested during the West Bank raids, the army said, providing no further details.
Tensions have been running high between Israelis and Palestinians for months, with repeated clashes between both sides in volatile West Bank cities.
On Friday, a 16-year-old Palestinian was shot dead during confrontations with Israeli soldiers in Bethlehem.
The wave of violence has so far this year left at least 102 Palestinians dead, mostly militiamen in clashes between Israeli troops, but also civilians, including 20 children.
On the Israeli side, 19 civilian victims of attacks have died, most of them settlers, including three children. EFE
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