Israeli forces kill Palestinian teen in West bank amid rising tensions

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, while Israeli police said an elderly Israeli man died after a carjacking near the same city.

Naeem Abdullah Samha, 15, was killed “by occupation (Israeli army) bullets” in the city of Qalqilya, the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said in a statement.

The Palestinian official news agency Wafa, citing local sources, reported that Samha was shot in the chest.

He was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead of his wounds there, the agency said, which gave no reason for the shooting.

At the entrance to Qalqilya earlier on Thursday, a 78-year-old Israeli man was carjacked by several suspects and later died of his injuries, according to Israeli police.

It is unclear if the two incidents were connected.

The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has for more than a year experienced a rise in deadly incidents, but particularly since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7.

Israel has carried out near-daily raids in the West Bank in what it says is a bid to thwart militant groups.

At least 547 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers since the Israel-Hamas war broke out, according to Palestinian officials.

Attacks by Palestinians have killed at least 14 Israelis in the West Bank over the same period, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

The West Bank is home to about 490,000 Israeli settlers who live in communities considered illegal under international law.