The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian teenager Thursday in the occupied West Bank city of Qalqilya, where the military reported that troops fired at rioters.
Israeli police, meanwhile, said an elderly Israeli man died after a carjacking near the same city.
Naeem Abdullah Samha, 15, was killed “by occupation (Israeli army) bullets” in Qalqilya, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said in a statement.
Palestinian official news agency Wafa, citing local sources, reported that Samha was shot in the chest.
He was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead of his wounds, Wafa reported, giving no reason for the shooting.
The military said troops had come under attack from rioters.
“A violent riot was instigated during IDF (army) counterterrorism activity in the Qalqilya area, during which suspects hurled stones and glass bottles toward the soldiers,” a statement said.
It also stated, “Soldiers responded with fire. A hit was identified on one of the rioters.”
In another development at the entrance to Qalqilya earlier on Thursday, a 78-year-old Israeli man was carjacked by several suspects and later died of his injuries, Israeli police said.
It is unclear if the two incidents in the area are connected.
The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has for more than a year experienced a rise in deadly incidents, particularly since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7.
Israel has carried out near-daily raids in the West Bank, in what it says is a bid to thwart militant groups.
At least 547 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers since the Israel-Hamas war broke out, according to Palestinian officials.
Attacks by Palestinians have killed at least 14 Israelis in the West Bank over the same period, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
The West Bank is home to about 490,000 Israeli settlers who live in communities considered illegal under international law.
With AFP
