(Jerusalem) Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man during clashes in the occupied West Bank on Sunday evening, hours after police were deployed to an East Jerusalem neighborhood to try to contain violence between ultra-nationalist Jewish activists and residents Palestinians.
Posted at 2:13 p.m.
Updated at 10:20 p.m.
Early Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Akram Abu Salah, 17, died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The clashes erupted after Israeli forces arrived in the village of Silat al-Harithiya near Jenin to destroy the homes of two Palestinian detainees accused of opening fire on a car traveling near a settlement in the West Bank and killing a settler in December.
Earlier in Jerusalem, unrest erupted in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood where clashes last year helped spark an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
Dozens of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and other East Jerusalem neighborhoods are at risk of eviction by Jewish settler organizations, and tensions between the parties often escalate into violence.
The latest unrest erupted after a settler’s house was burned down over the weekend. Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultra-nationalist MP, responded to the fire by setting up a makeshift office early on Sunday near the home of a family facing eviction. Palestinians moved into Mr. Ben-Gvir’s tent in the afternoon, throwing plastic chairs and jostling with his supporters.
Late Sunday, riot police sprayed water with a putrid smell to disperse Palestinian protests. A video posted on social media showed an Israeli policeman kicking a young Palestinian man. Police reported at least 12 arrests.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Medical Service said 14 Palestinians were injured, including four with rubber bullet wounds. Explosions from stun grenades used by police to disperse crowds could be heard during the evening.
Mr Ben-Gvir, a supporter of a radical rabbi who has called for the expulsion of Arabs from Israel, accused the police of using “extreme brutality” against his supporters. He said he would spend the night in the area “so that they learn”.
In addition to threats of eviction, thousands of Palestinians live in homes in East Jerusalem that are threatened with demolition due to discriminatory policies that make it extremely difficult to build new homes or expand existing ones. Eviction threats, linked to decades-old battles between Palestinian residents and Jewish settlers, sparked protests and clashes last May that helped ignite the Gaza war.
Israel annexed East Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the Six Day War in 1967. East Jerusalem is home to the city’s most sensitive holy sites. Israel considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. The fate of the city is one of the most contentious issues in this century-old conflict.