By Emily Rose
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A 15-year-old Palestinian militant was killed during a firefight with Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank early Wednesday, Palestinian officials said, the latest incident in a wave of violence which has intensified in recent months.
A statement from the Palestinian health ministry said the teen died of shrapnel wounds sustained during clashes with the Israeli military but a statement from the Palestinian Fatah Movement said he was shot dead by Israeli fire.
Palestinian officials identified the youth killed as Mahdi Hashash. The militant al-Aqsa Brigades, an offshoot of the Fatah movement, claimed him as one of its members.
The Israeli military did not confirm the death but said it had been securing the entrance to a site known as Joseph’s Tomb, in the West Bank city of Nablus and that troops opened fire after an explosive device was placed in the area.
Local media reported that soldiers were there to guard a visiting group of newly elected parliamentarians from the right-wing bloc that won last week’s election in Israel.
Joseph’s Tomb has been the scene of repeated clashes between Palestinians and Jewish visitors, who believe it is the burial place of the Jewish patriarch. Palestinians say it is the shrine of a sheikh.
The Israeli military would not confirm soldiers were there to guard a delegation but Boaz Bismuth from the Likud party posted pictures of himself on Twitter visiting the tomb, along with elected officials from other right-wing parties.
The West Bank city of Nablus has been an epicentre for clashes between Palestinian militant groups and Israeli forces in recent months. More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in clashes since the beginning of the year. Most of the casualties have been recorded since March when the Israeli army launched a crackdown in the West Bank following a series of attacks by Palestinian militants which have killed 21 people in Israel and Israeli settlements.
(Reporting by Emily Rose and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
