Palestinian teen killed by Israel forces in protest, Palestinians say

Israeli soldiers fatally shot a 15-year-old Palestinian today during protests in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said, although the Israeli military said its forces had not used live fire, Reuters reports.

The teenager, named as Ali Ayman Saleh Nasser, was hit by a bullet in his abdomen and was taken in critical condition for treatment at a hospital in the occupied Palestinian city of Ramallah where he succumbed to his wounds, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers had used what she described as “riot dispersal means” to confront dozens of Palestinians who were hurling rocks at soldiers and trying to roll rocks and burning tyres at Israeli vehicles.

“The reports of the use of live fire during the riot are not true and claims about a number of rioters injured and one killed are known,” the spokeswoman said.

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The Palestinian teenager was involved in a weekly protest against illegal Israeli settlements at Al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah, said Marzouq Abu Naeem, a member of the village council.

“This ugly crime is a war crime and a crime against humanity,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Palestinians want to establish a state in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, territories Israel captured and occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.

Palestinians believe Israel’s illegal settlements deny them a viable state and, like many countries, see the settlements as an obstacle to peace. Israel disputes this view.

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