Palestinian teenager killed in raid Israeli army in the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, near Jericho in the occupied West Bank, as tensions escalate in the region.

The Israeli military said in a brief statement that “security forces carried out an operation in Aqrabat Jaber,” without going into detail.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health had previously announced the death of 15-year-old Mohammed Fayez Balhan, who was “killed in occupation fire” after being shot in the head and chest.

Last night, the Israeli occupying forces launched large-scale raids on several areas in the West Bank. pic.twitter.com/fplNT0gZuA

— TIME GAS (@Timesofgaza) April 10, 2023

This operation by the Israeli army took place a day after the funeral of two young Israelis who died on Friday as a result of a Palestinian attack in the Jericho area.

Tension builds

Tensions between Palestinians and Israel are high after Israeli forces last Wednesday’s raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, sparked international protests.

Bloody shelling, rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria, followed by Israeli retaliation, have overshadowed the festive atmosphere on the occasion of the Jewish Passover, Christian Passover and Ramadan.

Israel said law enforcement was “forced to respond to restore order” in the face of “extremists” who barricaded themselves in the mosque with rocks and fireworks they used against police officers during the raid.

The next day, some 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, injuring one person and causing property damage. In response, the Israeli military launched strikes in Gaza and southern Lebanon.

“Mobilization”

On Friday evening, Israel announced the mobilization of reserve police units and military reinforcements following a car attack in Tel Aviv that killed an Italian tourist and two Israeli sisters, aged 16 and 20, shot dead in the West Bank.

“If a terrorist thinks that during the holiday season he will be able to hide from the security forces, he is mistaken. Anyone who acts against us will pay for this,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallad tweeted yesterday.

Since the start of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of at least 94 Palestinians, 18 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian, according to AFP estimates based on official sources.

^{Source: APE, AFP, Reuters.}