A Palestinian teenager was killed by Israeli army gunfire on Friday, during anti-settlement protests in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian medics and the health ministry said. "Mohammad Said Hamayel, 15, died in clashes" with Israeli forces near Beita, south of Nablus, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. The health ministry said six other people were wounded by live rounds. According to the Israeli army, hundreds of Palestinians had rioted, setting tyres on fire and throwing stones and fireworks at soldiers. "Troops responded with riot dispersal means and fire towards the rioters," an army spokeswoman said. According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, the confrontation came during a protest against Israeli settlement construction, with the army responding with live fire and tear gas. The teenager's death comes a day after three Palestinians were killed by Israeli special forces on a mission to arrest suspected "terrorists" in the occupied West Bank. Two of those killed were Palestinian intelligence officers and the third man was a former prisoner of Israel, Wafa said. Violence in the West Bank increased in May, with at least 30 Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces and during alleged attacks. That came amid a flare-up in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem that led to an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. West Bank villages often hold Friday demonstrations against land confiscation, house demolitions and Israeli settlements, which are deemed illegal under international law. The protests frequently lead to clashes with the Israeli army. Some 475,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank, which is home to more than 2.8 million Palestinians. Hours after Hamayal was confirmed dead, Israeli police said a Palestinian woman carrying a knife ran toward an Israeli military checkpoint and was shot dead by a private security guard. The shooting took place at the Qalandiya checkpoint near Jerusalem, one of the largest in the occupied West Bank. Police said the woman, identified as a 28-year-old resident of a West Bank refugee camp, had ignored calls by the guard to stop. Amateur video posted online showed the woman lying on the ground at the crossing. The Palestinian Prisoners Club, an advocacy group, said her name was Ibtissam Kaabneh and that she had previously served 18 months in an Israeli prison, after being arrested in 2016. Media reports said she had served time for an attempted stabbing.
