A Palestinian youth was killed and another injured by Israeli forces while a third was detained early on Wednesday, as soldiers opened fire at the youths’ vehicle in the town of al-Ram in the occupied West Bank’s Jerusalem district, according to Palestinian sources.
Israeli and Palestinian media sources affirmed that Israeli soldiers opened fire at a Palestinian car on Wednesday morning for allegedly trying to carry out a hit-and-run attack in the town. Eyewitnesses said that Israeli forces targeted the car with a barrage of live ammunition.
The youth who was killed was identified as Anwar al-Salaymeh, 22, and the two survivors were identified as Fares Khader al-Rishq, 20, who remains critically injured, and Muhammad Nassar, 20, who was detained by Israeli forces after the incident.
Palestinian ambulance crews were prevented from reaching the scene, while the two injured passengers were moved to an Israeli hospital where one of them was proclaimed dead.
Locals said that Israeli forces opened fire at three Palestinians youths, all residents of al-Ram, in a vehicle inside the town around dawn, as the three were seemingly unaware that Israeli forces were deployed in the town and conducting raids.
The sources pointed out. Last month, five teenage Palestinian boys were on their way home, after spending the evening at a swimming pool in the village of Beit Sira west of Ramallah, celebrating the recent arrival from Qatar of friends who were to spend the summer in their hometown of Beit ‘Ur al-Tahta.
However, their fun came to a halt when an Israeli soldier began showering the car with live fire, killing 15-year-old Mahmoud Raafat Badran and seriously injuring four others. Israeli Army claimed that the car the boy was travelling in had been “mistakenly hit” as the soldiers chased Palestinian stone throwers.
Witnesses confirmed that Israeli forces and military vehicles raided al-Ram, closed the main street and raided a blacksmith workshop in the area.
The Israeli spokesperson added that during the military raid, border guards allegedly “saw a speeding vehicle heading towards them” and opened fire, killing one of the passengers and injuring another while a third was detained and transferred for interrogation.
According to locals, al-Rishq’s vehicle arrived near the area where the raid was taking place, and Israeli soldiers opened fire at the car from a close distance, injuring al-Rishq and al-Salaymeh, who later died.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that an unidentified teen from al-Ram succumbed to his wounds after being critically injured by Israeli live fire aimed at the car, while another was injured during the same incident.
Locals added that clashes erupted between youths and Israeli forces, while soldiers opened live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear-gas bombs.
An unidentified youth was also reportedly detained during clashes.
