AP – Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian teenager in a raid in the occupied West Bank yesterday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, part of a relentless wave of violence that has rocked the region for the last year.
The military has been staging near-nightly raids in West Bank cities, towns and villages in what it said is an attempt to stamp out militancy. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the teen as Jibril al-Laada, 17. It said three others were seriously wounded in the fighting, which took place in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near the West Bank city of Jericho.
The camp has been a frequent target of Israeli raids.
Israel launched the raids last spring which set off some of the worst fighting between Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank in years and Israel said the raids are meant to thwart future attacks, though violence against Palestinians does not appear to be slowing.
Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making 2022 the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to leading Israeli rights group B’Tselem. Casualties have spiked this year, with 98 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire according to a tally by The Associated Press.
