Israeli army shoots Palestinian teen, arrests 32 in occupied West Bank raids

A Palestinian teenager was injured Thursday by Israeli army gunfire during a raid on the town of Bani Naim, east of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, while the army arrested 32 Palestinians, according to medical sources and eyewitnesses.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement that its teams transferred a 16-year-old boy to a hospital after he was shot in the chest with live ammunition during the raid.

Israeli forces stormed Bani Naim with several military vehicles and opened heavy fire with live ammunition, wounding the teenager, eyewitnesses told Anadolu.

In a separate development, the Israeli army arrested 32 Palestinians during widespread raids across West Bank cities and towns Thursday, according to the Prisoners’ Media Office.

The nongovernmental group said the arrests targeted several former prisoners and young men, and were accompanied by home raids, searches, vandalism of belongings and field interrogations of residents.

The arrests were concentrated in Hebron province, where 13 Palestinians were detained in the town of Beit Ummar, north of the city.

The remaining arrests took place in Bethlehem in the south, Qalqilya, Tubas and Tulkarem in the north, and occupied Jerusalem, the group said.

The West Bank has seen escalating Israeli army and occupier attacks since October 2023. According to official Palestinian figures, the attacks have killed 1,179 Palestinians and injured nearly 13,000 others, while around 24,000 Palestinians have been arrested.