Palestinian teen killed in clashes in Bethlehem

Jerusalem, Jan 3 (EFE).- A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was killed on Tuesday during a raid by Israeli troops of the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem in the south of the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the victim as Shaker Ayyad and said he died after being shot in the chest during an early morning raid by the Israeli army.

“Security sources reported that a force of the occupation army stormed the camp and proceeded to raid and search the homes of the citizens, as a result of which clashes broke out, during which the soldiers fired live and rubber-coated bullets, gas and sound bombs indiscriminately,” Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported.

Ayad received a bullet in the chest during the clashes and was taken to Beit Hospital, where doctors declared him dead, the agency added.

Another child was wounded by a bullet in the hand during the raid in Bethlehem, where the government declared a general strike on Tuesday.

Ayyad is the third Palestinian to be killed during clashes with Israel since the beginning of the year.

Two young men were killed on Monday during clashes with Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

Last year was the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2006.

There have been intense Israeli raids and armed clashes with Palestinians, especially since March last year when Israel launched a military operation it calls “Breaking the Wave” in response to a wave of attacks by Palestinians on Israeli soil.

Since then, violence has been on the rise, leaving at least 170 Palestinians dead, according to the Palestinian health ministry. EFE

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