IOF Murder Palestinian Youth, Injure Over 130 in WB

By Staff, Agencies

“Israeli” occupation forces [IOF] have fatally shot a young Palestinian man in the southern occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil [Hebron] as resistance movement cautions against an escalation of violence in the Palestinian territories ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Palestine's official Wafa news agency, citing local sources, said the young Palestinian – identified as Ahmad Younes al-Atrash – was shot dead by the IOF during clashes in downtown al-Khalil.

Wafa said the 29-year-old Palestinian was killed after being shot by “Israeli” soldiers at al-Shalala Street in the center of the occupied West Bank city.

“He was taking part in a weekly protest against ‘Israeli’ colonization when he was shot and critically injured by 'Israeli' soldiers,” the Palestinian news agency said, adding, “Al-Atrash was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment, where he succumbed to his wounds.”

The Palestinian Ma'an news agency said al-Atrash was shot in the chest by one of the snipers of the occupation forces who had been deployed in areas overlooking al-Shalala Street and al-Shuhada Street in the center of al-Khalil.

Younis al-Atrash, the father of the 29-year-old, said, “God has honored us with his martyrdom, and he joined his uncle, martyr Akram, and our other martyred friends."

Al-Atrash was reported to be a former prisoner in “Israeli” prisons where he served six years as a political inmate.

Dozens of Palestinian protesters also suffered suffocation from teargas inhalation as a result of the violence in al-Khalil on Friday when heavy clashes erupted between the youths and the occupation forces near al-Shuhada Street.

The young Palestinian men were throwing stones at the "Israeli" forces while the soldiers responded with live bullets and tear gas canisters, leaving more than 130 people injured as the Palestinian Red Crescent reported.

Wafa also said at least three Palestinians were injured separately on Friday after the “Israeli” forces attacked anti-occupation protesters in the village of Qaryut in the occupied West Bank province of Nablus, and in the village of Bil’in in Ramallah province.

Palestinians across the occupied West Bank usually hold anti-occupation protests on most Fridays, typically following the weekly Friday prayers. IOF soldiers respond by attacking the protests with teargas and live bullets, and often with gunfire.

The latest attack came as Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the political bureau of Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, had raised the alarm about escalating violence a day earlier, saying the “Israeli” entity’s continued attacks against Palestinian people during the holy month of Ramadan would only “explode the situation.”

Haniyeh stressed that the Palestinian resistance stands with its people and will never allow any further aggression during Ramadan.

In recent days, some 11 “Israelis”, including officers, were killed in three separate operations inside the “Israeli”-occupied territories by Palestinians in a surge of violence not witnessed in years.