International
Mohamad Torokman / Reuters
A Palestinian hospital official said a 12-year-old boy was killed by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank on Monday, further raising tensions heightened after weeks of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers over restrictions on worshippers seeking to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem and a series of attacks on Israelis.
A doctor at the Beit Jala hospital told The Associated Press that Abed al-Rahman Shadi Obeidallah was killed by a bullet to the chest and that another Palestinian protester was wounded in clashes that took place on Monday at Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem.
The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The Israeli military said it was checking the report.
On Sunday night Hutheifa Suleiman, an 18-year-old Palestinian, was fatally shot by Israeli forces during clashes in the West Bank city of Tulkarm.
Suleiman’s funeral on Monday drew thousands of Palestinian protesters demanding the shooter be brought to justice and denouncing Israel’s 48-year-long military occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Clashes, initially sparked by increased restrictions on Palestinian access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, spread after two recent attacks allegedly perpetrated by Palestinians killed four Israelis and wounded a 2-year-old child.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he was using an "iron fist" against what he called “Palestinian terrorism.”
"We are not prepared to give immunity to anybody, not to any rioter... or any terrorist, anywhere, and therefore there are no limits on the activities of the security forces," Netanyahu said in a televised address.
Israel had said it would implement a series of measures against Palestinians amid the escalation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will expedite the demolition of homes belonging to Palestinians allegedly involved in armed attacks and will expand “administrative detentions of rioters and banning those engaged in incitement from the Old City and [Al-Aqsa Mosque compound]."
Administrative detention is a controversial form of imprisonment that allows Israeli authorities to detain Palestinians indefinitely without charge, trial or access to counsel if they are deemed a security threat.
Palestinian youths throwing stones and firebombs have faced off against Israeli forces using live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas. Jewish settlers have also clashed with Palestinians, and even rioted in the West Bank in recent days.
The Palestinian Red Crescent on Monday said that nearly 500 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli soldiers and settlers since Saturday, according to local Maan News.
There have been fears that the recent surge in violence could spin out of control, with some warning of the risk of a third Palestinian intifada, or uprising.
Al Jazeera and wire services
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