Palestinian youth shot dead by Israeli army near Jenin

A young Palestinian man was killed by the Israeli military during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday morning, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Rafiq Riyad Ghannem, 20, was "shot by the occupation army” in the town of Jaba’ near Jenin in the northern West Bank, the ministry said in a statement.

Local sources told The New Arab’s Arabic language service that Israeli forces had stormed the home of Ghannem’s family, firing heavily.

They said he was hit at close range with several bullets. Israeli army soldiers prevented his family from reaching him and refused to allow him medical treatment, according to the local sources.

BREAKING: 20-year-old Palestinian youth Rafiq Ghannam succumbed to his injuries that he sustained by Israeli occupation gunfire before arresting him at dawn today in Jaba' town, south of Jenin. pic.twitter.com/6GrGqdi6wp

— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) July 6, 2022

He was then taken by the Israeli military to an unknown location where he died. The Israeli army has so far refused to return his body to his family.

Mosques in Jaba’ announced the young man’s death hours after the Israeli army raid.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

On Sunday, 17-year-old Kamal Alawneh was also shot by Israeli troops in Jaba’ and died a day later.

At least 50 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army since late March, mostly in the West Bank, among them veteran Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh.

Israeli security forces have launched near-daily raids in the occupied Palestinian territory, focusing on Jenin, following a series of attacks earlier this year.

Agencies contributed to this report.