Israeli forces kill Palestinian teen in West Bank gunfight
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The teen Hamzeh al-Ashkar (not pictured), had fired on Israeli troops and was from the Askar refugee camp.
PHOTO: AFP
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RAMALLAH, West Bank - Israeli forces killed a 17-year-old Palestinian on Tuesday during a raid in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, with the army describing the youth as a gunman who had fired on troops.
Hamzeh al-Ashkar was shot in the face by soldiers who raided the northern city of Nablus around dawn, the ministry said.
“He was armed and was firing on the (Israeli) forces,” a military spokesman said when asked about the incident.
The Den of Lions, a group of Nablus fighters with loose factional affiliations, said some of its members exchanged fire with Israeli forces who had “stormed a housing area”.
The group said the teenager who was killed was from the Askar refugee camp near Nablus, but did not claim him as a member.
Also early on Tuesday, Israeli forces arrested at least 18 Palestinians in the northern West Bank town of Burqin near Jenin, the Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said.
The operations come during a time of heightened tensions that have drawn fears of a further escalation in violence.
On Jan 27, a Palestinian gunman killed seven people near a synagogue in East Jerusalem,
The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 42 Palestinians, civilians and militants, have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers since Jan 1.
Israel says the raids are a security measure targeting suspected militants. Palestinians consider the raids a form of collective punishment and say they are fighting against decades of Israeli occupation.
The violence has prompted calls for calm on both sides from the United States and international organisations, including the United Nations. REUTERS
