Palestinian dies of wounds days after clashes with police in East Jerusalem

A Palestinian teenager who was shot and seriously hurt in clashes with police in East Jerusalem earlier this week died of his wounds on Friday night, Palestinian media reported.

According to a police spokesperson, two Palestinians allegedly involved in riots in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on Wednesday evening were shot by officers.

The spokesperson said the suspected rioters were shot after throwing firebombs and launching fireworks at the officers from close range. The injured pair were transported to a hospital for treatment, with one in moderate condition and one in serious condition.

Police on Wednesday said that “at a certain point, a Border Police officer — who was operating at the scene felt his life was in danger due to fireworks being fired directly at him and Molotov cocktails being hurled at him from a range of a few meters — fired accurately at the two suspects and neutralized them,” according to the spokesperson.

Palestinian media outlets said Friday that Wadih Aziz Abu Ramoz, 16, who was seriously hurt, had died of his wounds.

Police said they found a utility knife, a Hamas flag, and fireworks among the suspects’ belongings.

عاجل | استشهاد الشاب وديع عزيز أبو رموز من بلدة سلوان بالقدس المحتلة متأثرًا بجراحه التي أصيب بها قبل عدة أيام pic.twitter.com/ohI4UpwqnH

— حسن اصليح | Hassan (@hassaneslayeh) January 27, 2023

Also on Friday evening, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said three were hurt by gunfire near the northern West Bank town of Beita.

The Kan public broadcaster, citing an Israeli security source, said two settlement security guards were attacked by Palestinians hurling stones while driving in the area. One of the guards got out of the damaged vehicle and fired six times, the report said.

There was no immediate comment from the military or police on the shooting.

גורם ביטחוני: 2 אנשי ביטחון אזרחיים שנסעו לכיוון יצהר בשומרון נקלעו להתפרעות אלימה, במהלכה פלסטינים יידו אבנים וניפצו את חלונות רכבם. אחד מאנשי הביטחון יצא מהרכב וירה 6 כדורים.
הפלסטינים מדווחים על 3 פצועים, אחד מהם קשה pic.twitter.com/4cGM9OvuaX

— Carmel Dangor כרמל דנגור (@carmeldangor) January 27, 2023

The incidents came around the same time as a deadly terrorist attack in Jerusalem, during which a Palestinian gunman opened fire at Israelis near a synagogue, killing seven and wounding three others.

Friday’s deadly attack came following days of violence in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Tensions have increased dramatically since Thursday morning, when an Israel Defense Forces raid in the West Bank against a terrorist cell left nine Palestinians dead — most of them gunmen and members of the cell, though at least one civilian was also killed.

Thursday overnight saw rocket fire from Palestinian terror groups in Gaza and Israeli retaliatory air strikes as both sides appeared intent on avoiding an escalation into a full-scale war.

Tensions have soared in the West Bank as the IDF has pressed on with an anti-terror offensive to deal with a series of attacks that left 31 people in Israel and the West Bank dead in 2022.

The IDF’s operation has netted more than 2,500 arrests in near-nightly raids. It also left 171 Palestinians dead in 2022, and another 32 since the beginning of the year, many of them while carrying out attacks or during clashes with security forces, though some were uninvolved civilians.