Israeli forces reportedly kill Palestinian teen in West Bank

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager during clashes in the occupied West Bank on Friday, Palestinian officials said.

Palestinian witnesses said that a group of young Palestinians near the town of Bethlehem were throwing rocks at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas and gunfire.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 16-year-old was shot dead during the clash.

The Israeli military said it was checking the report.

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Earlier, Israel’s military said it arrested a suspected militant and confiscated weapons in a raid in the city of Jenin that led to clashes with Palestinian fighters.

Israeli forces said they shot at suspects who hurled explosive devices at them. Palestine TV said the soldiers wounded two people, including a 14-year-old boy. It said the forces blocked the movement of ambulances and conducted arrests before withdrawing.

Videos circulating on social media, which Reuters could not independently verify, showed a convoy of armoured military vehicles approaching the area before a cloud of white smoke rose from an apartment building as shots rang out.

“Before afternoon prayers, the (Israeli) military and special forces positioned themselves around the refugee camp but thank God the fighters were on high alert and they managed to prevent the forces from raiding the camp,” said Ata Abu Rmeileh, head of the Jenin branch of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party.

He added that the residents of Jenin were expecting more raids in days ahead.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has surged this year, with frequent military raids and violence by Israeli settlers amid a spate of Palestinian attacks. More than 90 Palestinians and at least 19 Israelis and foreigners have been killed since January.

Israel captured the West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of a future independent state, in the 1967 Middle East war. It has since built large settlements there while US-sponsored statehood talks have stalled. - Reuters

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