Palestinian teens armed with scissors shot in Jerusalem
Teenage girls among Palestinians shot by Israelis in alleged attacks that leave one Israeli settler dead.
Three Palestinian teenagers have been shot dead and an Israeli has been stabbed to death during alleged attacks in the occupied West Bank and West Jerusalem.
On Monday afternoon, Hadeel Awwad, 16, was shot dead by an Israeli security guard, while her 14-year-old cousin Norhan Awwad was seriously wounded by Israeli police during an alleged stabbing incident.
Purported CCTV footage of the incident showed that the two teenagers were carrying scissors at the time they were shot.
During the incident, the girls both appear to have been shot again after they were on the ground and not moving. A man had already beaten one of them with a chair.
Israeli media initially reported that two Israelis were wounded in the attack, although a hospital official later said one of those injured was a 70-year-old Palestinian resident of Bethlehem, who had a light stabbing wound in his back.
The other was a 27-year-old Israeli security guard who was shot in the hand by “friendly fire”, the Palestinian Maan News Agency reported.
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Mahane Yehuda is West Jerusalem’s best-known market and a popular tourist destination.
Also on Monday, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian near the central West Bank city of Ramallah after stabbing a 20-year-old Israeli settler to death, the Israeli army said.
The attack came just hours after a 16-year-old Palestinian, Alaa Hashash, was shot dead by Israeli troops as he reportedly tried to stab a soldier near the West Bank village of Huwwara, situated south of Nablus.
Tensions have boiled over into unrest in recent months, as Palestinians continue to protest against Israel’s ongoing occupation and an uptick in Israeli incursions into occupied East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site for Muslims.
Israeli forces have used force against protests, including live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas, among other weapons.
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Since October 1, Israeli troops or armed settlers have killed at least 94 Palestinians, including unarmed bystanders, protesters and suspected attackers. At least 16 Israelis have also been killed by Palestinians in stabbing or shooting incidents.
The incidents were originally focused in and around Jerusalem but have shifted to the occupied West Bank, particularly in and around the flashpoint city of Hebron.
Monday’s shooting death and reported stabbings were the first in Jerusalem in nearly two weeks.
The violence follow the shooting of three Palestinians on Sunday after civilians and security forces intervened during alleged attacks on Israelis in the occupied West Bank. An Israeli woman was stabbed to death in one of the incidents.