A 12-year-old Palestinian was killed on Tuesday evening during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the town of Al-Ram north of Beit-ul-Moqaddas in the central occupied West Bank after he was struck in the heart by a rubber-coated steel bullet, according to medical sources.
The Palestinian teen, who was pronounced dead on arrival at the Palestine Medical Center, was identified by the Palestinian Ministry of Health as 12-year-old Muhye Muhammad Sidqi al-Tabbakhi, Ma’an News Agency reported.
An Israeli Army spokesperson told Ma’an she would look into reports on the incident.
Clashes erupted after Israeli forces raided the town of Al-Ram, as Palestinian youths threw rocks and empty bottles at Israeli soldiers who then responded by shooting live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas bombs into the community.
Israeli forces have come under repeated criticism for excessive use of force, as well as lethal methods of crowd control that often result in death or injury of protesters.
Earlier on Tuesday, a Palestinian was shot after stabbing two Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank. He died of his wounds, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Mustafa Baradeah, 51, lightly wounded the soldiers with a screwdriver before being shot, the army said. They said he had a knife in his possession.
Baradeah’s brother Ibrahim was killed in April after carrying out an attack with an axe that left a soldier lightly wounded.
Baradeah was from Al-Arroub refugee camp, located about halfway between Bethlehem and Al-Khalil.
Violence in the Palestinian territories and Israel since last October has killed at least 217 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese, according to an AFP count.
