Israeli army kills Palestinian teen during raid in occupied West Bank

The Palestinian Health Ministry has identified the young boy as Omar Khumour, who was killed by Israeli forces during a military raid in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces said they responded with live fire against Palestinians protesting a military raid into Dheisha refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
AP

Israeli forces said they responded with live fire against Palestinians protesting a military raid into Dheisha refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli security forces have fatally shot a 14-year-old Palestinian during an early morning military raid into a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said, the latest incident in weeks of surging violence.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the teenager as Omar Khumour and said he died after being struck in the head by a bullet during an Israeli military raid on Monday into Dheisha refugee camp near the city of Bethlehem.

Crowds of Palestinians full of rage massed outside the hospital where he died in Bethlehem, chanting against Israel and calling out to God.

The Israeli army said forces entered the Dheisha camp and were bombarded by Molotov cocktails and rocks. It said soldiers responded to the onslaught with live fire.

The death of Khumour brings the toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank so far this year to 14, including three people under the age of 18, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Israeli military raids into the occupied West Bank have intensified in frequency and in violence, making last year the deadliest year for Palestinians since the end of the second intifada (Palestinian uprising) in 2005.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank and occupied east Jerusalem in 2022, according to figures by the Israeli rights group B’Tselem. 

Israel captured the occupied West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with occupied east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip — territories the Palestinians want for their hoped-for state.

READ MORE: Palestinian killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank

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Entrenchment of occupation 

Some half million Israelis now live in about 130 illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank. The Palestinians and much of the international community view illegal settlements as an obstacle to peace.

The Israeli military has been conducting near-nightly arrest raids in the Palestinian territory since last spring.

The military raids were intensified following a wave of Palestinian attacks against Israelis that killed 19 people, while another 10 Israelis were killed in a second string of attacks later last year.

Israel says the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. The Palestinians see them as further entrenchment of Israel’s open-ended, 55-year illegal occupation of lands they seek for their future state.

Israel claims most of the dead were militants. But Palestinians, including youth, protesting military raids into occupied Palestinian territory, as well as others not involved in confrontations, also have been killed.

READ MORE: 'Slow death': Why are Gaza’s health workers protesting Israeli blockade?

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