A 15-year-old Palestinian was killed in an Israeli raid on Dheisheh refugee camp yesterday night.

Arkan Thaer Mizher was shot in the chest by Israeli occupation forces during a raid on Dheisheh camp, situated near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, that was carried out overnight.

 

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that Mizher was pronounced dead after being taken to Beit Jala Hospital, Wafa reported. Mizher’s funeral is due to take place today.

 

Two other Palestinians were injured during the raid after being shot in the foot by Israeli live fire. They are believed to be in a stable condition in hospital.

 

Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition, as well as tear gas and stun grenades, during the raid on the refugee camp, according to Al Jazeera. The Israeli occupation forces claimed that the raid was carried out to arrest several Palestinians, with Ynet reporting that eight were detained as a result. In a statement, Israel said that it was “looking into” the death of Mizher and the injury of two others.

 

Israeli raids on Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank are commonplace. Last month, a report by Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem found that Israeli occupation forces had set dogs on elderly Palestinians and teenagers during a raid on Jenin refugee camp in May. B’Tselem’s report added that “this conduct is not a local initiative by individual soldiers or commanders in the field. It is part of the Israeli military’s policy in the West Bank.”

 

Israel has also illegally killed a number of Palestinian children during incursions into the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt). According to statistics from Defence for Children International – Palestine, Israeli forces have killed 30 Palestinian children in the oPt in the first half of 2018. In 2017, 15 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli forces.

 

In June, two Israeli soldiers accused of killing 16-year-old Palestinian Samir Awad were releasedafter indictments against them were dropped. The pair shot Samir in the back on 15 January 2013 while he and his friends were playing near the illegal Separation Wall near Ramallah. The indictment was dropped after the defence argued that prosecuting the two soldiers for illegally killing Samir would constitute “a selective enforcement of the law, since it is rare for an indictment to be brought against Israeli Defence Force soldiers who shoot and kill Palestinians.”

 

 

Source: Middle East Monitor