Injured Palestinian teen dies in Israeli custody

ANKARA

An injured Palestinian teenager died on Sunday in Israeli custody after being detained during a Saturday night incursion into the occupied West Bank city of Jericho and opened fire on him and his companion, who died on the spot.

The official Palestinian news agency reported that “Mohammed Al-Baytar, a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager, succumbed this morning to injuries sustained from Israeli occupation forces' gunfire last night in Aqabat Jaber refugee camp in the occupied West Bank province of Jericho.”

Israeli forces raided the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp on Saturday night and opened fire on two teenagers near the western cemetery, the news agency said.

“The incident resulted in the immediate killing of 16-year-old Ahmed Ashraf Hmedat and the injury of Al-Baytar, who was subsequently arrested,” it added.

Tensions have been high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip after a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 521 Palestinians have since been killed, including 131 children, and nearly 5,000 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel is accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi