Israeli guards kill Palestinian near West Bank settlement

Karam Ali Ahmad Salman, 18, was shot dead near the settlement of Kedumim amid rising tensions.

Israeli guards have killed a Palestinian teen near an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said amid rising tensions after Israeli forces killed at least nine people in a Jenin refugee camp earlier this week.

Karam Ali Ahmad Salman, 18, was shot dead by “the Israeli occupation near the settlement of Kedumim”, the Palestinian health ministry reported on Sunday.

More than 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces so far this year.

The ministry added that Kedumim was built on privately owned Palestinian land.

The Israeli army claimed Salman was “armed with a handgun” and was shot by a “civilian security team”.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 War and settlements are regarded as illegal under international law.

The shooting follows a slew of attacks after Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp during a raid on Thursday.

On the same day, a Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces in the town of al-Ram, north of Jerusalem, marking one of the deadliest days in the occupied West Bank.

The United Nations said 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2005, with at least 170 people killed including more than 30 children, and 9,000 others injured.

Meanwhile on Saturday, a Palestinian family’s home was set on fire by Israeli settlers north of Ramallah. Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Maher said no one was in the house when it was torched.

“We learned the family have left the occupied Palestinian territories,” he added, speaking from Ramallah. “Activists and eye witnesses say there has been a rise in attacks since Friday night.”

On Friday, a Palestinian attacker shot dead seven people near a synagogue in occupied East Jerusalem before being fatally shot.

In response to the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans on Saturday to make it easier for Israelis to get firearms, a move seen as “collective punishment” and one that could further increase the violence.

Israel also launched multiple air attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip on Friday. Local sources in Gaza told Al Jazeera that Israeli warplanes had hit the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of the territory, with at least 13 attacks in the early hours of Friday.

The Israeli army said the air attacks on Gaza – one of the most densely populated areas in the world with 2.1 million residents – followed after two rockets were fired towards Israel at about midnight (22:00 GMT).