Palestinian teen killed by Israeli army in West Bank

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army killed a Palestinian teen Friday in eastern Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, amid a devastating offensive, according to Palestinian authorities.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Adel Bishkar, 19, was killed in the Askar refugee camp in Nablus.

The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, said Bishkar was shot in his chest by the army, and transferred to hospital, but later died from his wounds.

The Palestinian Health Ministry, meanwhile, said it was notified by the Civil Affairs Authority, the Palestinian Authority’s official liaison office with Israeli authorities, that three Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army Wednesday in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem.

The army continues a devastating offensive in the areas of Jenin and Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, that started Jan. 21, and has killed more than 30 victims, displaced thousands and caused wide-scale destruction.

The Israeli escalation in the West Bank follows a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in the Gaza Strip on Jan. 19 after more than 15 months of Israeli bombardment, which has killed over 48,200 Palestinians and devastated the enclave.

Since the war began Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 913 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The International Court of Justice declared in July that Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land is illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar