Two young Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, March 15, during operations by Israeli security forces in the West Bank.
Nader Haitham Rayan, 16, one of the two victims, was mortally wounded by several bullets in the head, chest and hand, the Palestinian ministry said without giving further details on the circumstances of the incident. ‘incident. The event took place in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus in the northern West Bank as part of an Israeli army operation.
A spokesperson for the Israeli border guards, a unit deployed in the West Bank, told Agence France-Presse that“while they [les forces armées] were about to leave the camp, a motorcycle arrived with a terrorist on board who fired in their direction. Israeli forces responded and killed him.”. The exchange of fire occurred as Israeli forces left Balata camp after arresting “a Palestinian wanted by Israel for terrorist activities”, he specified.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, three other Palestinians were injured and were hospitalized, one of them in serious condition.
The second victim, Alaa Shaham, in his 20s, was fatally shot in the head in the Kalandia refugee camp near Ramallah, according to the Palestinian ministry and the official news agency. Palestinian Wafa. In addition, six other young Palestinians were wounded by bullets, according to the Palestinian ministry.
The spokesperson for the Israeli border guards for his part reported violence during an arrest operation in the Kalandia refugee camp. When Israeli forces arrested “two people involved in terrorist activities (…) riots broke out in Kalandia refugee camp”he justified in a press release. “Hundreds of rioters notably threw heavy objects from the roofs of houses endangering the Israeli forces, who responded by dispersing the demonstrations and firing”he added.
Twenty Palestinians killed in the West Bank since 2022
The violence comes as a senior US State Department official in charge of Israeli and Palestinian affairs, Hady Amr, is on a tour of Israel and the West Bank these days. It aims to “reduce tension” and “implement specific economic measures” for ” to improve “ in particular the living conditions of the Palestinians, aims the American embassy.
Clashes with the Israeli army break out regularly in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 by the Jewish state, on the sidelines of demonstrations against Israeli colonization or arrests in Palestinian localities by the Israeli security forces.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 20 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces since the start of 2022. About 475,000 Israeli settlers call the West Bank home, where more than 2.8 million Palestinians live.
