Palestine: 15 killed in Bethlehem – At least 90 injured in clashes near Nablus

LAST UPDATE: 22.49

A 15-year-old Palestinian was killed today by the Israeli army near Bethlehem, in the south West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced.

Zaid Mohamed Gouney was seriously injured by bullets in the back and neck and died at the hospital where he was taken.

The Israeli army, contacted by AFP, said it did not want to comment at this time on the ministry.

Nineteen people, mostly civilians, have been killed in attacks in Israel and the West Bank since late March. The perpetrators were Palestinians or Arab Israelis. Israeli security forces responded with operations in Israel and the West Bank, in which a total of 35 Palestinians and three Arab Israelis were killed. Some of them were members of armed groups, but some were civilians, including a journalist covering such an operation in the city of Jenin. An Israeli policeman was also killed in an Israeli operation in the West Bank.

At least 90 people have been injured in clashes with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank today, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

One of the Palestinians was shot in the leg and taken to hospital. The rest have injuries from flash-crackers, plastic bullets and because they inhaled tear gas. The Israeli army has not commented so far.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry in a statement denounced the “repression” on the part of Israel, noting that the residents were protesting against the expansion of Jewish settlements and the seizure of Palestinian land.

The worst clashes took place in the city of Juara, near Nablus.

Videos posted this week on social networking sites show Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers hoisting Palestinian flags in the city. In response, the Palestinians organized a march holding flags. The mobilization resulted in clashes with Israeli forces.

“What is happening in Juara is a provocation by the settlers,” Mohammad Abdelhamid, a city councilor, told Reuters. “We are raising the Palestinian flag, which is the symbol of our identity, and it will remain high for as long as we are on this earth,” he added.

Under Israeli law, Palestinian flags are not illegal, but police and the army often remove them from public places.

The Islamist group Hamas warned earlier this week that a new war could break out if the “flags” marched by the Israeli nationals this Sunday were allowed to pass through the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.