(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Israeli police officers shot dead a Palestinian teen near the Damascus gate of Jerusalem's Old City early Sunday morning after he allegedly attempted to stab a 16-year-old Israeli boy, an Israeli police spokesperson said.
An Israeli police spokesperson said Israeli forces "identified the suspect who still had knife in his hand, and Israeli forces then neutralized and shot" the man.The 16-year-old is reportedly in moderate condition, according to Israeli media.
The Palestinian who was shot dead has been identified as Fadi Samir Mustafa Alloun, 19, from the occupied East Jerusalem village of al-Issawiya. Alloun is the second Palestinian to be shot dead after allegedly stabbing Israelis in the Jerusalem's Old City in the past 24 hours.
However, Alloun's father has denied claims that his son tried to stab anyone before he was shot dead in the street, citing a video of the incident that has been circulating the internet. "Videos from the scene show a group of settlers chasing my son and he was trying to run to an Israeli police patrol for protection," the father told Ma'an news agency.
The Israeli authorities, he said, will "make up pretexts to shoot and kill any Palestinian." Witnesses from the scene of the incident told Ma'an that a group of settlers surrounded Fadi and "wanted to kill him" then a police patrol arrived and shot him dead. The incident took place just hours after another Palestinian was shot dead after he stabbed and possibly opened fire on a family of Israelis at the Old City's Lion's Gate.
Two Israelis were killed and two others injured, including a two-year-old infant, in the attack. Both incidents came amid soaring tensions across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Recent weeks have seen fierce clashes in East Jerusalem as a result of severe entry restrictions to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City - the third holiest site in Islam.
Most Palestinians under the age of 50 have been denied entry to the mosque compound since September 27, when Jews began celebrating the eight-day Sukkot festival. Saturday witnesses extensive clashes in various Palestinian communities in occupied Jerusalem, especially in al-'Eesawiyya, at-Tour, as-Suwwana, Ras al-'Amoud, 'Anata, Shu'fat refugee camp, Wad al-Jouz, Qalandia refugee camp and ar-Ram.
The Israeli soldiers and groups of Israeli extremists carried out dozens of attacks targeting the Palestinians and their property in different parts of occupied Jerusalem, wounding dozens of residents, while the soldiers also kidnapped several Palestinians, and attacked medics. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) said dozens of Israeli extremists invaded the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood, especially near the al-Magharba Gate, and hurled stones and empty bottles on Palestinian homes and property.
Shortly after the attacks started, Israeli soldiers invaded the neighborhood and fired rubber-coated steel bullets, gas bombs and concussion grenades targeting the Palestinians, before removing the settlers. Silwanic stated that the Israeli extremists were chanting racist slogans, mainly "Death to Arabs," and hurled stones on the residents, also targeting several cars, while shrapnel of concussion grenades injured six Palestinians.
The army sealed Wadi Hilweh, before dozens of soldiers, and undercover units of the military, invaded the neighborhood, especially in its alleys, and around of the illegal outposts, and fired several concussion grenades wounding eleven Palestinians, including a child and a woman. A group of Israeli setters gathered near the Hebron Gate, in preparation to invade neighborhoods in the Old City, but the soldiers stopped them.
One Palestinian suffered various cuts and bruises after being attacked by several extremists in West Jerusalem. On Saturday evening, soldiers assaulted Palestinian medics of the Red Crescent while trying to provide first aid to wounded residents in Bab al-'Amoud. The soldiers frequently disrupted the work of the medics, tried to damage their ambulances, and attempted to kidnap a wounded Palestinian while receiving treatment in one of the ambulances.
The soldiers also invaded the interior of the Al-Qibli Mosque, while heavily armed, and forced around sixty Palestinian to leave the holy site, while eleven young men initially refused to leave. The soldiers later assaulted them as they were leaving through the Chain Gate, and kidnapped two. The army caused excessive damage to the mosque, and occupied its rooftop. In the West Bank, meanwhile, Israeli settlers carried out violent reprisals on Friday and Saturday after two settlers were shot dead near Nablus on Thursday. At least 10 Palestinians were reported injured with live rounds on Saturday as Israeli forces searched for those responsible for the shooting.
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