Hundreds mourn Palestinian teenager killed by Israeli forces near Jericho

Hundreds mourned on Monday a Palestinian teenager killed by Israeli forces during a raid in the occupied West Bank earlier that day.

Mohammad Fayez Balhan, 15, was shot dead in the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp near Jericho.

The funeral procession for Balhan, whose body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag and carried on mourners' shoulders, started from a hospital in Jericho.

The procession roamed the city's streets before making its way to a mosque in Aqbat Jabr where prayers were held, journalist Marhan Barahmeh told The New Arab's Arabic sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Balhan's body was then brought to his family's home, where they said their last goodbyes to him.

After this, a procession roamed through the camp's streets amid angry chants denouncing Israeli crimes and praising the deceased teenager. The Palestinian national flag and the flags of Palestinian factions were raised.

Balhan's body was then buried in a local cemetery.

The raid on Aqbat Jabr on Monday morning saw Israeli forces surround several houses and detain two youths.

Young Palestinians confronted the Israelis and armed fighting broke out. Dozens of people suffered the effects of tear gas, with Israeli forces shooting Balhan in the head and chest.

His death was announced after he was transferred to hospital.

Two other youths were wounded in their lower extremities by live fire and taken to hospital for treatment.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group confirmed Yassin Omar Hanifa and Mohammed Eid Abu Dahouk from Aqbat Jabr were detained on Monday.

It said 100 arrests had been made in the Jericho area since the start of 2020, many of which were from the Aqabat Jabr camp.

There has recently been an uptick in Israeli violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, with almost 100 killed by Israeli forces and settlers so far in 2023.

Last Wednesday, on the Day of the Palestinian Child, the Palestinian foreign ministry called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to "list Israel, the occupying power, as a systemic violator of the rights of children".

The statement seemed to be pointing to the United Nations secretary general's annual "list of shame".