Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri said a Palestinian teen was shot dead near the Abu al-Arish checkpoint in the West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), on Saturday.
The victim was identified as 17-year-old Abdullah Muhammad al-Ajlouni. Witnesses said the young man was “showered” with bullets at a checkpoint near the illegal Israeli Kiryat Arba settlement.
Reports say the Israeli soldier was transferred to a nearby hospital to receive treatment for the slight injuries he sustained in the alleged attack.
Following the incident, Israeli forces closed the entrances to the city’s Ibrahim Mosque, which was declared a “closed military zone” in 2000 by Israel.
Al-Khalil , the largest West Bank city, has witnessed escalated tensions between some 200,000 Palestinians and several hundred Israelis living in illegal settlements under heavy military guard.
The recent incident comes a day after a 21-year-old Palestinian man was killed by Israeli forces at a junction in Southwest Bethlehem for being “armed with a knife.” However, witnesses say the youth was not carrying knife.
Since August 2015, the occupied Palestinian lands have been the scene of tensions after Israel’s imposition of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
At least 206 Palestinians, including children and women, have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since October 1, 2015.
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