Palestinian youth killed after being shot four times at point-blank

Ramallah, December 3 (RHC)-- Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian youth in the occupied West Bank, marking the most recent case of such deadly violence by the regime’s forces against Palestinians in the occupied territories.  The 22-year-old, identified as Ammar Mefleh, was shot dead following an alleged stabbing attack against the regime’s forces at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank town of Hawara on Friday.

Footage released on social media showed Ammar being shot four times at point-blank range as he was lying on the ground.  The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli forces blocked emergency responders from reaching the victim.

This will add to the nearly 210 Palestinians that have been killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of this year alone.  Clashes erupted in Hawara after the killing as Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian, and dozens of others were targeted with teargas canisters shot by the occupying regime’s troops.

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the “heinous crime” committed by a “racist Israeli soldier” and held the Israeli regime directly responsible.

The ministry said the “fascism” practiced by Israeli lawmakers generates a feeling among the regime’s soldiers that they are protected by the political and judicial levels in the occupying entity.  The heinous crime, it said, must prompt the International Criminal Court (ICC) to uphold its responsibilities, break its silence, and promptly end its investigations to ensure the prosecution of the criminal who committed this crime, and other crimes.

Palestinian resistance groups have also condemned the attack, stressing the need to continue resistance against occupiers.  In a statement, the Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement said the cold-blooded killing of the Palestinian man showed the aggressive and fascist behavior of the occupation and its forces.  It noted that the “Zionist enemy will pay the price for its crime.”

Tareq Ezz al-Din, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, said what the Israeli soldier did today was a “full-fledged war crime” that the whole world witnessed, adding that it proves the extent of crimes carried out by the Israeli regime against defenseless Palestinians.  He noted that silence in the face of such a crime amounts to being complicit in shedding the blood of Palestinian people.