Amer Abu Zaytoun, 16, was killed Thursday morning from critical wounds he sustained overnight when an IDF force entered the Balata refugee camp east of Shechem to arrest wanted persons, and clashes broke out. According to local residents, the soldiers surrounded the house of a released security prisoner named Hassan Araishi for about an hour and left the place after arresting him. The force also arrested his uncle, Ahmed, who was inside the same house with him.
According to medical sources, the boy, Abu Zaytoun, was shot in the head and the chest, and later died in the hospital. Two young PA Arabs were wounded by the same forces.
On Wednesday, a 14-year-old PA Arab was shot in the leg by Israeli soldiers during clashes at the Al-Arroub refugee camp near Hebron.
On the night between Monday and Tuesday, Adam Ayad, 15, was killed by IDF fire in the Deheisha refugee camp near Bethlehem. Border Guard forces fired in response to the throwing of Molotov cocktails, explosive devices, and stones at them. The PA Health Ministry said Ayad was killed by a live bullet in the chest.
In 2022, 144 PA Arabs were killed by Israeli security forces in Judea and Samaria, the highest figure since 2004. The IDF attributes the increase in the number of casualties to the presence of many more illegal weapons in PA Arab hands, and the increased use of them against IDF forces during raids. According to the IDF, 2022 saw 130 shooting incidents against soldiers when forces entered PA Arab neighborhoods, compared to only 25 in 2021.
