WEST BANK (Dispatches) – Zionist troops shot and killed a Palestinian man on Thursday during the funeral of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy shot dead by the occupying regime’s troops a day earlier, the Palestinian health ministry said.
“Shawkat Khalid Awad, 20, died of gunshot wounds to the head and stomach in Beit Ummar,” the Palestinian health ministry said.
Zionist troops fired tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades at Palestinians attending the funeral procession of Mohammed al-Alami, 12, a Palestinian boy killed the day before in the occupied West Bank.
Alami died on Wednesday after being shot by Zionist troops while travelling in a car with his father in the occupied West Bank town of Beit Ummar northwest of Al-Khalil, Palestinian authorities said.
Videos shared on social media showed the town’s streets trashed with debris and stones following the confrontations between Palestinians and the regime’s troops.
In reaction to Alami’s killing, an international aid group has censured the use of force by Zionist troops against children in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Save the Children released a press statement on Thursday after three Palestinian children were killed across the West Bank as a result of extreme violence exercised by the troops over the past week.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Alami was shot in the chest and suffered bleeding in his lungs when Zionist troops opened fire at the car.
It added that the boy was evacuated by medics in critical condition to al-Ahli Hospital, but later died of his injuries.
Alami was the second young Palestinian to die of wounds sustained by Zionist fire in days.
On July 24, Zionist troops stormed the town of Beita, south of Nablus, and killed a Palestinian teenager at a protest over illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The 17-year-old, who suffered gunshot wounds, died in hospital on Saturday, a day after the violence in the town of Beita resulted in the injury of 320 Palestinians.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has stressed the need to hold the Zionist regime accountable for its crimes against Palestinians and to prosecute the occupying regime’s leaders at the International Criminal Court (ICC) following the fatal shooting of a teenager in the occupied West Bank.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem made the remarks in a press release on Thursday while he censured as “a full-fledged war crime” the killing of Alami.
“The occupation army’s persistence in committing crimes against our children reflects its constant feeling that it is above international law,” Qasem said. “We reaffirm the justice of our people’s demand for the prosecution of Israeli army leaders at the International Criminal Court.”