Israeli forces kill Palestinian teen in raid on Nablus

Ramallah, November 10 (RHC)-- Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian teenager while escorting settlers to Joseph's Tomb on the outskirts of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.  The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that Mahdi Mohammed Hashash, 18, sustained gunshot wounds in his abdomen and foot in the early hours of Wednesday.

The teen was later declared dead after he was transferred to hospital to receive treatment for his injuries, it added.  According to medical sources and Hashash's relatives, the victim was a member of the Balata Brigade, which announced its formation last month amid stepped-up Palestinian struggles against Israeli occupation.

The Palestinian Information Center cited local sources as saying that resistance fighters opened fire on the Israeli forces on the outskirts of Nablus, and that fierce clashes also erupted between Palestinian young men and Israeli troops who used live ammunition and tear gas against them.  According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, three other Palestinians were injured, while tens others suffered breathing difficulties due to inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli troops during the raid.

Israeli forces have recently been conducting near-nightly raids and killings in the northern occupied West Bank, mainly in the cities of Jenin and Nablus, where new groups of Palestinian resistance fighters have been formed.

More than 175 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip since the beginning of the year, including 51 Palestinians during Israel’s three-day assault on Gaza in August, according to the Palestinian health ministry.