Israeli forces kill Palestinian during protests in West Bank

RAMALLAH: Israeli troops killed a Palestinian man in clashes that erupted on Thursday during the funeral of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy shot dead by soldiers a day earlier, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Witnesses said hundreds of Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli forces during the burial near the town of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian health ministry said Shawkat Awad, 20, was hit by the Israeli gunfire and died in hospital. They said another 12 protesters were wounded.

Palestinian officials said the 12-year-old, Mohammad Al Alami, was fatally shot in the chest by Israeli forces on Wednesday as he was riding in his car with his father.

Israeli soldiers fired tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades at Palestinians attending the funeral of Mohammed al-Alami, 12, a Palestinian boy killed the day before in the occupied West Bank.

On Thursday a procession followed the boy’s body, draped in the flag of Fatah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s party, through the streets of Beit Ummar, where he was buried.

Later, hundreds of Palestinians threw stones at Israeli soldiers who responded by firing tear gas. The town’s streets were trashed with debris and stones following the confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces.

The Israeli military said troops “responded with riot dispersal means, 22 caliber bullets and live fire into the air”. According to the Israeli military, a soldier shot at the vehicle’s wheels after concluding it had been involved in suspicious activity earlier in the day. The military said the incident was being reviewed by senior officers.

Alami was the second young Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in days, after 17-year-old Mohammed Munir al-Tamimi died on Saturday of gunshot wounds in the Palestinian village of Beita. On Tuesday, a 41-year-old Palestinian was shot dead, also near Beita, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The West Bank is among territories where Palestinians seek statehood. All Jewish settlements in the West Bank are regarded as illegal by most of the international community. Violence has simmered there since US-sponsored talks between the Palestinians and Israel broke down in 2014.