Sunday, February 12, 2023

Israeli forces kill MURDER Palestinian boy 
in West Bank: ministry

Issued on: 12/02/2023 - 


The mother and relatives of a young Palestinian boy react, after he was reportedly shot dead by Israeli forces during confrontations in the West Bank town of Jenin, on February 12 
© JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP

Jenin (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager Sunday in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, with the army reporting they came under fire during a raid.

The ministry reported 14-year-old Qusai Radwan Waked died "as a result of being seriously wounded in the abdomen by live fire from the occupation (Israel)" in Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank.

The army said Israeli forces were shot at while they were trying to arrest an alleged Palestinian militant, while "explosive devices and rocks" were also thrown at them.

"We are aware of the reports regarding a number of armed individuals who got injured during the exchange of fire," an army statement said, adding that no troops were hurt.

An AFP photographer saw the teenager's body wrapped in a sheet and being carried on a stretcher.

The latest killing comes as violence flares in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War.

This year there have been 46 Palestinian fatalities, including attackers, militants and civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official statements.

Nine Israeli civilians and one Ukrainian have been killed over the same period.

Elsewhere in the northern West Bank on Sunday, Palestinian mourners gathered for the funeral of a 27-year-old man shot dead allegedly by an Israeli settler.

Mithkal Suleiman Rayyan was shot in the head Saturday near the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan, where the army reported "heavy clashes between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli civilians".

Attia Asi, who witnessed the killing, said the shooting happened before soldiers arrived.
Jerusalem and Jenin © / AFP

"In the beginning it was in the air, then it turned towards the (Palestinian) guys, aiming to kill," he told AFP at the funeral.

The latest raid in Jenin by Israeli forces led to the arrest of Jebril Zubeidi, who the military said is accused of "terrorist activity against security forces and planning attacks".

The city's deputy governor, Kamal Abu al-Rub, said Jebril Zubeidi is the brother of jailed Zakaria Zubeidi, who headed the armed wing of the Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

Zakaria Zubeidi was the alleged mastermind of a daring prison break in 2021, in which he and five fellow Palestinians escaped a high-security facility in northern Israel before being recaptured.

Palestinian president urges world puts a 'stop to Israeli aggression’ amid Arab League split

Issued on: 12/02/2023 -

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Sunday accused Israel of having "crossed all red lines" in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, and urged world leaders to put an end to its actions.

The international community must "protect" the Palestinian people and "put a stop to Israeli aggression... (and) unilateral actions", the head of the Palestinian Authority told an Arab League meeting in Cairo.

"Israeli intransigence and practices have crossed all red lines", he said at the gathering attended by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II.

Last year was the deadliest year in the West Bank since the United Nations started tracking casualties in the territory in 2005.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen at least 43 Palestinians -- including attackers, militants and civilians -- killed this year, according to AFP figures.

Nine Israeli civilians including three children, and one Ukrainian have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official statements.

In a video address, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres affirmed the international body's "clear position against unilateral actions," citing "illegal settlements in east Jerusalem" in particular.

Sisi -- whose country retains its traditional role as a Middle East mediator - vowed to "continue to work with the two sides of the conflict to revive the political process and restore calm in the West Bank and Gaza".

Abdullah, whose country acts as custodian of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, said Arab leaders "must galvanise efforts to support the resilience of our brothers" in the Palestinian territories.

US President Joe Biden told Abdullah last week that Washington supports a "two-state solution" in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"Mr. Biden tells me he supports a two-state solution, but then does nothing at all," Abbas added.

A two-state solution would mean the dismantling of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as the partition of Jerusalem, which Israel refuses as it considers the city its undivided capital.

The Arab League is itself split on relations with Israel since 2020 when the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco normalised ties with the Jewish state under the US-brokered Abraham Accords, years after Egypt and Jordan had forged relations.

(AFP)

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