A Palestinian youth succumbed to his wounds on Saturday after he was shot by Israeli forces during a raid on Balata refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Nablus earlier this week.
Muhammad Abu Asab was critically injured last week when Israeli occupation soldiers stormed the camp and opened fire at residents, sparking clashes with local youths. He was transferred to a hospital, where he underwent several surgeries, but his condition deteriorated and he was pronounced dead on Saturday morning.
Abu Asab’s family said accused the Israeli forces of deliberately targeting him and other young men in the camp.
Balata camp is the largest and most densely populated refugee camp in the West Bank, housing about 32,000 Palestinians who were displaced from their homes in historic Palestine during the 1948 war. The camp has been a frequent site of confrontations between Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian residents, who suffer from poor living conditions, unemployment, and lack of basic services.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, dozens of Palestinians were injured by live bullets, rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas inhalation, and physical assault during the Israeli raid on Balata camp.
The Israeli occupation military said the raid was part of a “routine” operation to arrest wanted Palestinians and confiscate weapons. It claimed that its soldiers were met with “violent riots” and responded with “riot dispersal means” and live fire.
The death of Abu Asab brings the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank this year to more than 220, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The ministry also said that more than 1,500 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli fire since the beginning of 2023.
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