Israeli forces shoot and wound 15-year-old boy in the West Bank
The Wafa news agency is reporting that the shooting occurred as Israeli forces raided the town of Beita, near the city of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.
The boy was wounded in the thigh, the agency reported.
It also said Israeli forces:
- Wounded two young men during a raid on the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus
- Assaulted and abused several young men in a raid on the Arroub camp, north of Hebron
- Stormed the city of Salfit and made preparations to demolish the home of the slain Palestinian Ammar Awda, accused of carrying out a deadly attack on Israelis in August
- Fired live rounds, tear gas and sound bombs in the town of al-Khader, south of Bethlehem
- Raided the home of slain Palestinian Qusai al-Tamimi in the village of Nabi Saleh and tore up his pictures.
Earlier, we reported that Israeli forces infiltrated the Far’a camp, near Tubas, and killed three Palestinians and arrested two others.
‘They gave us seven minutes to leave’
As we’ve been reporting, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in Israel’s ongoing assault on the occupied West Bank.
Among them is Ayat Abdullah, 30, from the village of Kafr al-Labd. She told The Associated Press news agency that Israeli soldiers gave her family only minutes to flee on February 9.
“I was sobbing, asking them, ‘Why do you want me to leave my house?’ My baby is upstairs, just let me get my baby please,’” Abdullah told AP from the shelter where she is now staying with her children.
“They gave us seven minutes. I brought my children, thank God. Nothing else,” she said.
Together she and the children had to walk for 10km (six miles) using only the light of her phone to navigate the muddy streets, terrified they could be attacked by Israeli snipers that had killed a 23-year-old pregnant woman just hours earlier.
Her five-year-old son, Nidal, interrupted her story, pursing his lips together to make a loud buzzing sound. “You’re right, my love,” she replied. “That’s the sound the drones made when we left home.”
Israeli settlers storm archaeological site in the occupied West Bank
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that Israeli settlers have stormed the West Bank’s largest open archaeological site in the village of Sebastia.
Sebastia, located 10km (6.2 miles) northwest of Nablus, is encircled by Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law. The village is a pilgrimage site for Christians because it is believed to be where John the Baptist, known in the Quran as the Prophet Yahya, is buried.
It is also believed to be the site of Samaria, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Israel.
Israeli army blows up Palestinian home in West Bank’s Salfit city
The Israeli army has used explosives to demolish the house of a Palestinian accused of carrying out a knife attack near Tel Aviv last year during large-scale military operations in the occupied West Bank.
According to witnesses, Israeli forces evacuated the occupants of the three-storey house and blew up the building in Salfit in the northern West Bank.
The house belonged to Omar Awdah, whom Israel accused of carrying out a stabbing attack in August in which two Israelis were killed and two injured in the city of Holon. Awdah was shot dead by Israeli forces.
For years, Israel has pursued a policy of home demolitions as a punitive measure against families of Palestinians accused of involvement in attacks against Israeli targets.
The Salfit demolition came as the Israeli army continues its deadly raids in the northern West Bank, where at least 60 people have been killed and thousands displaced since last month.
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