A PALESTINIAN TEENAGER has been killed by Israeli army gunfire during clashes in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian medics and the health ministry said.
“Mohammad Said Hamayel, 15, died in clashes” with Israeli forces near Beita, south of Nablus, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The health ministry said six others were wounded by live gunfire.
The army, contacted by AFP, said hundreds of Palestinians had rioted, setting ablaze tyres, and hurling stones and fireworks at soldiers.
“The troops responded with riot dispersal means and fire towards the rioters,” an army spokeswoman said.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, the clash came during a protest against Israeli settlement construction, with the army responding with live fire and tear gas.
The teenager’s death comes a day after three Palestinians were killed by Israeli special forces on a mission to arrest suspected “terrorists” in the West Bank.
Violence in the West Bank increased in May, with at least 30 Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces and during alleged attacks.
That came amid a flare-up in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem that led to an 11-day war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.
West Bank villages often hold Friday demonstrations against land confiscation, house demolitions and Israeli settlements, which are deemed illegal under international law.
The protests often lead to clashes with the Israeli army.
Some 475,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, home to more than 2.8 million Palestinians.
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