Israeli forces kill Palestinian boy in occupied West Bank

GBNEWS24DESK//

Israeli troops have shot and killed a 13-year-old Palestinian boy during weekly protests against the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials.

The Palestinian health ministry said Mohammed Daadas died in hospital on Friday after being shot in the stomach.

Six other Palestinians were treated at the scene of confrontations in the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, after inhaling tear gas launched by Israeli troops, the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance service said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the incident.

Separately, two other Palestinians were wounded on Friday in clashes in Beita, another West Bank village where locals have struggled for months to dislodge Israeli settlers and the military from a hilltop.

It came days after Israel announced it would advance plans for 3,000 more illegal homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank, despite international criticism.

Israel has also advanced plans to build about 1,300 homes for Palestinians in the West Bank, but critics viewed the move as an attempt to parry global condemnation of settlement construction.

Israel seized the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and hardline Israelis, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, view Palestinian land in the West Bank as a heartland of Jewish history.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have since moved into settlements that are regarded illegal under international law.

Bennett has ruled out formal peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, saying he prefers to focus on economic improvements.