Two Palestinians killed in latest Israeli raids in West Bank

Al-Jazeera  /  February 14, 2023

Israel has killed 50 Palestinians, including 11 children, in the 45 days since 2023 began.

Ramallah, occupied West Bank Two Palestinians, including a teenager, have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, as Israel’s new far-right government has intensified deadly raids in the occupied territories.

Mahmoud Majed Mohammad al-Ayedi, 17, was shot and killed by the Israeli army on Tuesday morning during a raid on the Far’a refugee camp in the governorate of Tubas in the northern occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Al-Ayedi was shot in the head during the raid.

Separately on Tuesday, 25-year-old Haroun Abu Aram succumbed to Israeli army gunshot wounds he sustained on January 1, 2021, in Masafer Yatta, in the Hebron/Al-Khalil area of the southern occupied West Bank, where close to 1,000 residents are facing the threat of imminent forced displacement by Israel.

The health ministry said Abu Aram’s gunshot wound “led to quadriplegia (paralysis from the neck down), and the blockage of his leg arteries, which led to his leg being amputated, and severe ulcers in his leg and pelvis, as well as infections in his lungs”.

Abu Aram’s case caused an international outcry after he was shot in the neck at point-blank range by the Israeli army as he was trying to wrangle away an electricity generator belonging to his family that soldiers were trying to confiscate. The incident was filmed and shared widely online. He had been suffering from serious health complications over the past two years since being shot.

Abu Aram’s family home had also been demolished by the Israeli army a month before the shooting.

Tuesday’s deaths bring the number of Palestinians killed by Israel in the 45 days since 2023 began to 50 people, including 11 children and one woman.

On Monday, Israeli forces shot dead 21-year-old Ameer Ihab Bustami during a raid on the city of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank.

Last year was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2005, according to the United Nations. Some 224 Palestinians were killed across the illegally occupied territories of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 2022, including 53 children and 17 women.

Since the far-right Israeli government was sworn in at the end of last year, raids and killings of Palestinians have intensified.

SOURCE: AL-JAZEERA