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Israeli forces fatally shoot Palestinian teenager near Nablus, health ministry says

Saeed Yousef Mohammad Odah, 16, was shot in the stomach, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent
A Red Crescent ambulance evacuated Odah to Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus (Facebook)

Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian teenager near the village of Odla in the north of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health has reported. 

Saeed Yousef Mohammad Odah, 16, was reported to have been a resident of the village, located south of Nablus.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Odah was shot in the stomach. A Red Crescent ambulance evacuated the teenager to Rafidia Government Hospital in Nablus.

A second Palestinian was shot in the back and was being treated in hospital, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The Israeli army told AFP that Molotov cocktails had been thrown at soldiers "during a routine operation south of Nablus".

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"The soldiers acted to stop the suspects by opening fire on them," the army said, adding that no soldiers were injured and that the incident would be investigated.

Residents of Odah and the nearby village of Beita told Reuters there have been clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops near the villages' entrances the past several nights.

Suspect arrested

Kan, an Israeli news channel, reported that Odah was killed during an Israeli forces search for the suspect in a drive-by shooting on Sunday.

The shooting at a West Bank intersection seriously wounded two Israelis and lightly injured another.

One of the Israelis, a 19-year-old male, died of his injuries on Wednesday night, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said on Twitter.

The drive-by shooting took place hours after an Israeli soldier shot Rehab al-Hroub, a 60-year-old Palestinian woman who authorities said had approached Israeli soldiers with a knife at the time of her killing. The incident took place at the Gush Etzion junction in the southern West Bank. 

The Israeli Security Agency, also known as Shin Bet, said it had arrested a Palestinian suspect over the shooting, identifying him as a 44-year-old resident of the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya.

The Shin Bet said the man was not affiliated with any armed groups.

Tensions have been high in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in recent weeks, with massive protests sparking over a variety of issues, from access to the al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to large-scale home evictions.

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