https://arab.news/p7kwb
- A statement from the local municipality also said Faqha died after being shot by Israeli forces
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Israel鈥檚 military confirmed on Tuesday it had 鈥渘eutralized鈥� a Palestinian who threw rocks in the occupied West Bank, where authorities said the slain victim was 14 years old.
In a statement on Monday, the Palestinian Authority announced 鈥渢he martyrdom of 14-year-old boy Yousef Fouad F aqha, who was shot by Israeli forces in the town of Sinjil鈥� in the central West Bank.
A statement from the local municipality also said Faqha died after being shot by Israeli forces.
Asked about the incident, the Israeli military told AFP on Tuesday that during an operation around Sinjil a day earlier, its forces had 鈥渋dentified a terrorist who had hurled rocks toward a transportation route and thrown two bottles containing hazardous material toward the forces.鈥�
鈥淚mmediately after identifying the threat, the forces opened fire and neutralized the terrorist,鈥� it added.
The military later confirmed to AFP that the target was Faqha.
Sources close to the family said that Israeli authorities were still holding onto the body.
In a similar incident in April, a teenager who held US citizenship was shot dead in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, with the Israeli military saying it had killed a 鈥渢errorist鈥� who threw rocks at cars.
Sinjil and Turmus Ayya are located next to each other on either side of a main road running through the West Bank.
The Israeli military has recently surrounded Sinjil with a large metal fence that cuts the town off from the road.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has soared since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians, but also some 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 938 Palestinians 鈥� many of them militants, but also scores of civilians 鈥� in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to Palestinian health ministry figures.
At least 35 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.