Two Palestinian teens said killed in West Bank clashes with IDF

Two Palestinian teens were killed in clashes with the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

A 15-year-old Palestinian was shot dead during clashes that broke out during a weekly northern West Bank protest against the expropriation of land for Israeli settlements.

The IDF said its troops opened fire after the boy hurled a Molotov cocktail at troops stationed near the West Bank security fence surrounding the Palestinian town of Qalqilya.

The teen was later identified as Adel Daoud, a resident of Qalqilya. Over a dozen other Palestinians were injured in the clashes, Arabic media reported. The IDF said none of its troops were injured.

Palestinians from the nearby town of Kafr Qaddum have for years been holding near-weekly protests against Israel’s expropriation of land that had historically belonged to their town, but has since become part of the borders of the nearby settlement of Kedumim.

Israel often cites security concerns in justifying such moves, saying they help separate Israeli and Palestinian populations in the West Bank, while Palestinians say it is part of a policy to slowly eat away at their land and harm farmers who rely on the agricultural lands in order to make a living.

Palestinian demonstrators take cover during clashes with Israeli soldiers following a protest against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the village of Kfar Qaddum in the West Bank on October 7, 2022. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

In a second incident, 17-year-old Mahdi Ladadweh, was reported shot and killed during clashes in a village northwest of Ramallah. The army had no immediate comment on the incident.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 50 Palestinians were wounded in clashes in the village of Al Mazraa al-Gharbiya near Ramallah, as the Israeli army fired live rounds, rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse demonstrators. Crowds of Palestinians gathered outside the Ramallah hospital where Ladadweh was pronounced dead, chanting against Israel.

Palestinian media quoted residents saying that the clashes with Israeli security forces erupted as dozens of Palestinians in Al Mazraa al-Gharbiya came out to protest incursions and attacks on the village by Israeli settlers.

Friday’s clashes unfolded during a months-long period of raised tensions in the West Bank.

Hours earlier, the IDF announced the arrest of a Palestinian suspected of attempting to carry out a pair of attacks in the territory, including placing an explosive device at a gas station.

استشهاد الفتى عادل ابراهيم داود من #قلقيلية
برصاص قوات الاحتلال pic.twitter.com/AfHxzAbe0v

— عزات جمال ???????? (@3zJamal) October 7, 2022

The Nablus resident was one of five terror suspects arrested in overnight raids throughout the West Bank.

The IDF and police have been on heightened alert since last week amid the Jewish holiday season, with tensions already high due to an Israeli anti-terror offensive that has seen over 100 Palestinians killed and more than 2,000 arrested in nightly raids in the West Bank.

مصادر محلية: 13 إصابة بالرصاص المعدني جراء قمع الاحتلال مسيرة كفر قدوم الأسبوعية المناهضة للاستيطان شرق قلقيلية pic.twitter.com/ZKSsgtJxLK

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) October 7, 2022

The military launched the arrest operations after a series of Palestinian attacks that killed 19 people between mid-March and the beginning of May.

Israeli troops have repeatedly come under gunfire during nightly raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank. During an operation in May, a police commando was killed as troops were wrapping up an arrest operation in the Jenin area. Last month, a senior IDF officer was killed in a gun battle with Palestinians on the northern West Bank security barrier.