Palestinian teens, 16 and 19, shot by Israeli soldiers near checkpoint in northern West Bank

By MEE and agencies

 

A Palestinian teen has been shot dead and another has been wounded by an Israeli military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said.

The Palestinian health ministry said in a statement on Monday that a 19-year-old was "hit by live ammunition" and died at a hospital in Jenin, in the northern West Bank, AFP reported.

A 16-year-old Palestinian was also taken to Jenin hospital, Palestinian media outlets WAFA and Watan TV said, citing the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

A Palestinian official at Jenin hospital told Reuters that the 16 year old is in stable condition after being shot in the lower back.

In a statement, the Israeli army said its troops fired at "two assailants who hurled an explosive device" in the vicinity of a checkpoint near Jenin on Monday, AFP said.

The army did not say whether the two people were hit, the news agency reported. No Israeli soldiers were hurt in the incident, it said.

But the Israeli military's version of events was immediately disputed by Palestinian officials.

The governor of Jenin, Akram al-Rajoub, told Palestinian news outlet WAFA that the Palestinian men were returning from work and did not engage in any aggressive behaviour towards Israeli forces.

Citing witnesses, Watan TV said the teens were on a motorcycle when Israeli forces shot them.

In 2018, Israeli security forces killed a total of 290 Palestinians, including 55 minors, in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli human rights group B'Tselem reported.

Of that total, 254 Palestinians were killed in Gaza while the other deaths took place in the West Bank.

Only eleven of the Palestinians killed in the West Bank were shot "while attacking, attempting to attack, or allegedly attempting to attack Israeli security forces or civilians – by ramming cars into them, stabbing, use of other cold arms or shooting", the group said.

B’Tselem said that a majority of those killed were the result of Israel’s "reckless open-fire policy".

Israeli forces implement a "shooting to kill" policy for incidents that Israel defines as "attacks", the group said.

 

Source: Middle East Eye