A Palestinian teenager has been fatally shot by Israeli forces during clashes in the south of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Palestine's official Wafa news agency said the 16-year-old Palestinian, identified as Mustafa Amer Sabbah, was killed on Friday by Israeli “live fire” during confrontations that broke out in the village of Tuqu, to the southeast of Bethlehem.
“Confrontations broke out at the western entrance of Tuqu village, during which Israeli occupation soldiers fired live bullets, teargas canisters, and stun grenades at the village residents, shooting and critically injuring a teenager in the chest,” the news agency added.
Sabbah was rushed to hospital in a critical condition due to a serious gunshot wound to the chest, where he was pronounced dead.
Palestine's Shehab news agency also reported the development, adding that the Israeli occupation forces sealed off the western entrance of the village with a flying checkpoint after the teenager was pronounced dead.
The fatal shooting came a day after Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in the central part of the occupied West Bank over an alleged stabbing and car-ramming attack against the regime’s troops.
The victim, identified as 39-year-old Ahmad Yaqoub Taha, was shot dead near the illegal settlement of Ariel, located close to the Palestinian city of Salfit, with the Israeli military claiming in a statement that he tried to run over soldiers who were at a junction in the area.
Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested.
Most of the raids have focused on the West Bank cities of Nablus and Jenin, where Israeli forces have been trying to stifle a growing Palestinian resistance against occupation.
At least 106 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces so far this year, including an elderly woman and at least nine children, according to Wafa.