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Photo:
Amer Abu Zeitoun, 16. Published by IMEMC News and Haaretz

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by IMEMC News
Jan 5, 2023

On Thursday dawn, Israeli soldiers invaded the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, fatally shot a child and injured three Palestinians, one seriously.

The Palestinian Health Ministry has confirmed that the soldiers killed Amer Abu Zeitoun, 16, after shooting him in the head.

Media sources said undercover soldiers infiltrated the refugee camp and ambushed the Palestinians before many army vehicles that surrounded the refugee camp invaded it.

Amer was shot shortly after he noticed the undercover soldiers hiding in an alley and ran to warn the residents about their presence.

Many Palestinians protested the invasion before the soldiers fired a barrage of live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets, and gas bombs at Palestinians, injuring three Palestinians with live fire, including one who suffered serious wounds.

During the invasion, the army also closed and isolated many neighborhoods and streets.

Furthermore, the army invaded and ransacked many buildings and positioned its sharpshooters on rooftops before the soldiers surrounded and stormed the home of a former political prisoner, Hasan Al-Araishi, and abducted him after attacking and injuring him and several members of his family.

Media sources said the soldiers also abducted a young Palestinian man after shooting him with live fire.

In addition, the soldiers stopped Palestinian ambulances while heading to Balata to provide the needed medical attention to the wounded.

On its part, the Lion’s Den unified resistance group said its fighters exchanged fire with the soldiers invading Nablus city and Balata.

One of the invading Israeli militaries sustained damage after being targeted with an explosive charge during before the army pushed more armored vehicles into the refugee camp after surrounding and isolating it.

The slain child is the fourth Palestinian to be killed by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank in the first four days of this year, 2023.

On Tuesday, January 03, the soldiers killed a child Adam Essam Ayyad, 15, after the army invaded the Deheishe refugee camp south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

On Monday dawn, January 02, dozens of armored Israeli military vehicles, including bulldozers, invaded Kafr Dan town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, demolished the homes of two slain Palestinians, killed Mohammad Samer Houshiyya, 22, and Fuad Mohammad ‘Aabed, 17, and injured at least eight others, one seriously.

First Published on: Jan 5, 2023, at 09:23
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16-year-old Palestinian Shot Dead by Israeli Army Overnight, Ramallah Says

The youth was fatally wounded by a gunshot to his head, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Clashes reportedly broke out as Israeli forces entered the Balata refugee camp to arrest wanted persons

by Jack Khoury for Haaretz
Jan 5, 2023

A 16-year-old Palestinian was killed Thursday overnight by Israeli army fire in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported.

According to the ministry, the youth killed is Amer Abu Zeitoun. He was wounded by a live gunshot to the head and died shortly after. Palestinian media reported that three other people were injured in clashes that broke out after the IDF entered the refugee camp to arrest wanted persons, but it was not immediately clear whether Zeitoun was involved.

According to the residents, the soldiers surrounded the house of a released security prisoner named Hassan Araishi for about an hour, and left after arresting him.

Border Police Spokesperson said that Israeli forces detained two wanted individuals at the Balata refugee camp overnight. Armed militants opened fire heavily on the forces as they retreated. One militant was "neutralized" after firing at the forces from close range, according to the statement.

On the night between Monday and Tuesday, a 15-year-old Palestinian was killed by IDF fire in the Dheisheh refugee camp, near Bethlehem. The IDF Spokesperson said that Border Police forces at the scene fired in response to the throwing of Molotov cocktails, explosive devices and stones at them.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the victim, Adam Ayad, died after being shot in the chest.

Data from the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem show that in 2022, 144 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank by Israeli security forces fire – the highest number of fatalities in 18 years.

The army attributes the rise in fatalities to the increased access to weaponry and its use against IDF forces during raids, which have escalated since March 2021.

According to the IDF, last year there were 130 shooting incidents against soldiers when Israeli forces entered Palestinian communities, compared to only 25 in 2021.

At the same time, according to Haaretz's investigation based on real-time IDF reports, only in about 45 percent of the cases was there a specific claim that the deceased had been armed or that the fatal shooting happened during clashes in which there was an exchange of gunfire.