A Palestinian teenager who allegedly pelted stones at Israeli motorists in the central West Bank was shot dead by Israeli troops, officials said.
The fatality marked the fifth Palestinian killed by Israeli forces in raids or attacks in the past 24 hours, significantly increasing the death toll during a month-long anti-militancy offensive in the West Bank.
The Israel Defense Forces said several suspects threw stones and containers of paint at Israeli cars moving on Route 465 near the village of Aboud, northwest of Ramallah.
“The suspects were shot by IDF soldiers conducting routine activity in the area,” the army said, adding that “the targets were hit.”
The Palestinian Authority health ministry said 17-year-old Diya Muhammad Shafiq al-Rimawi died. His body was taken into custody by the Israeli army.
The ministry said a second Palestinian was seriously wounded in the incident and taken by Israeli troops to an Israeli hospital, while three others were in stable condition at a hospital in Ramallah.
Local sources: Boy Diya al-Rimawi, who was shot this evening by the occupation forces near the town of Aboud, west of Ramallah.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/DneDfzQwdF
– Quds News Network (@qudsn) December 8, 2022
A military official confirmed that the suspect’s body was being held by Israel and that a second man had been taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The IDF said the suspects “endangered the lives of passersby.” There were no immediate reports of Israelis being injured or cars being damaged in stone-throwing incidents in the area.
The incident happened hours after three gunmen were killed by Israeli troops on Thursday morning printed in the city of Jenin.
wednesday afternoon a dacoit The man who opened fire at a military post in the central West Bank was also shot dead.
Tensions have been high in the West Bank over the past year, with the IDF conducting an ongoing major counter-terrorist operation, mostly focused on the northern West Bank, to deal with a series of Palestinian attacks. In which 31 people have died in Israel and the West Bank. Dead since the beginning of the year.
The operation has made more than 2,500 arrests in nearly nightly raids, but has also released at least 165 Palestinians, many of them – but not all – for carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces.
There have been several deadly clashes in the Jenin and Nablus regions, where the Israeli army has repeatedly launched arrest campaigns.
In recent months, Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly targeted military posts, soldiers working along the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements and civilians on the streets.
The IDF says it has recorded nearly 300 gunfire attacks and attempts against Israeli civilians and soldiers in the West Bank this year, compared to just 91 last year.
