BY: News Peddlers
According to the Palestinian health ministry and witnesses, an Israeli soldier shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian in the village of al-Mughayyer, near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.
The youth was identified as Amjad Nashat Abu Alya by the ministry, who said he was shot in the chest on Friday afternoon.
He was transferred to a hospital in Ramallah, where at around 2pm, he was declared dead (11:00 GMT).
The murder occurred during clashes with the Israeli army and Jewish settlers that erupted after a Palestinian protest against settlement brutality in the region.
The Committee against the Wall and Settlements of the Palestinian Authority, which routinely organizes rallies, as well as a number of popular organizations, called for the demonstration, which started at around 11am (8:00 GMT).
Journalist Hadi Sabarneh, who was present at the scene, told Al Jazeera that, in addition to Israeli forces, a group of settlers had arrived at the protest, including one armed with what appeared to be an M-16 rifle, which the journalist filmed.
“Both the army and the settler were shooting at the protesters who were throwing rocks. When they both started shooting, the youth fell to the ground,” Sabarneh said.
Nassar Nassar said he was about 10 meters (30 feet) away when his cousin Amjad was killed, and that the armed settler was "shooting indiscriminately."
“There were confrontations, and there was a lot of friction between the youth and the Israeli army and settlers,” he told Al Jazeera
“There was one settler who was armed, and my cousin was very close to him – it was point blank.”
“It’s clear that there was the intention to kill because the shot was above the waist,” Nassar said.
According to an Israeli army spokesperson, the army was "aware of reports of a Palestinian being killed," and that the army reacted after Palestinians burned tires and threw stones.
The army "worked to restore order" after "clashes erupted between Palestinians and settlers, which involved throwing stones at one another," according to the spokesperson.
According to Israeli media, a settler was also injured.
Under international law, settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal, but Israeli governments have continued to allow their expansion.
According to his cousin, Amjad was in the tenth grade and regularly attended protests, especially after his friend, Ali Abu Alya, was killed by Israeli forces during clashes with Palestinians in 2020.
“He was his closest friend, and after his killing, Amjad was always at the first line of defence,” said Nassar.
SOURCE: AJ JAZEERA