World

Israeli guards kill Palestinian teenager near West Bank settlement

Karam Ali Ahmad Salman, 18, was shot dead by "the Israeli occupation near the settlement of 'Kedumim'," says official

By AFP

January 29, 2023

Palestinian demonstrators clash with Israeli troops following a protest against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the occupied West Bank, in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near the Jewish settlement of Kedumim, on January 20, 2023.— AFP

RAMALLAH: Israeli guards killed a Palestinian near a settlement in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Sunday, with the Israeli military alleging he was armed.

Karam Ali Ahmad Salman, 18, was shot dead by "the Israeli occupation near the settlement of 'Kedumim'," the Palestinian health ministry reported.

Israel's army said a "civilian security team" shot a person "armed with a handgun" near the settlement in the northern West Bank.

The Palestinian health ministry reported that Kedumim was built on privately-owned Palestinian land.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War and settlements are regarded as illegal under international law, a charge Israel disputes.

Salman is one of at least 32 Palestinians killed in the West Bank this month, including civilians and militants, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.

A Palestinian gunman killed seven people Friday outside a synagogue in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

In response to the deadly attack, the Israeli government announced a slew of measures including "steps to strengthen settlements".

The latest violence follows a surge in killings last year.

At least 26 Israelis and 200 Palestinians were killed across Israel and the Palestinian territories in 2022, the majority in the West Bank, according to AFP figures.