Israeli forces kill Palestinian teen in occupied West Bank

Israeli soldiers have shot dead a 17-year-old Palestinian boy during confrontations near the town of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry and official Wafa news agency said on Monday.

The health ministry said Mohammed Abu Salah was killed in the village of Silat al-Harithiya as troops arrived late on Sunday to demolish the home of Muhammad Jaradat, a man accused of killing an Israeli settler late last year.

Israeli forces were accompanied by a military bulldozer and prevented the entry and exit of vehicles.

According to local media sources, dozens of Palestinians from neighbouring villages and towns went to Silat al-Harithiya on foot once they heard of the Israeli raid.

17-year-old Mohammed Akram Abu Salah from Seilt Al-Harithya village, Jenin succumbed to his wounds today.

Mohammed was shot by Israeli soldiers during a protest in the village yesterday. #MilitaryEmbargo #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/ELECDAy5tM

— Stop The Wall (@stopthewall) February 14, 2022

The Palestinian health ministry said dozens were injured by live ammunition and rubber coated bullets fired by the Israeli army.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said its ambulances were prevented from accessing the village.

Witnesses said soldiers and Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire.

Hundreds of Palestinians threw rocks and petrol bombs at the soldiers, who responded with “riot dispersal equipment and also fired at gunmen they had spotted”, a statement by the Israeli military said, without commenting directly on the teenager’s death.

“The troops identified a number of armed rioters, and fired towards them in order to neutralise the threat,” the statement.

Jaradat has been charged with killing an Israeli in a shooting attack on a car near the illegal Jewish outpost of Homesh on December 16. The former settlement was evacuated as part of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

The floor of the house where Jaradat’s family lived was demolished by explosives.

Israel says demolitions carried out at assailants’ homes can help deter future assaults.

Rights groups have condemned the tactic, which often targets homes where other family members also live, as collective punishment.

In the past year, Israeli demolishment and seizure of Palestinian structures across the occupied West Bank increased by 32 percent from 2020, with demolitions average two per week. At least 656 Palestinians were displaced as a result, including 359 children.