Israeli forces kill Palestinian teenager in West Bank

Israeli forces kill Palestinian teenager in West Bank
A Palestinian teenager, accused of throwing a petrol bomb at Israeli soldiers in the south of the occupied West Bank, has been shot dead.
2 min read
05 February, 2016
The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli soldiers prevented paramedics from reaching the scene [Getty]

Israeli troops shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian who the Israeli military says was about to throw a fire bomb at passing cars in the West Bank.

The child killed was identified as Haitham Ismail al-Baw.

A second teenager involved in the incident was reportedly detained in the town of Halhul north of Hebron. According to Maan news agency, the child was seen handcuffed and blindfolded.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli soldiers prevented paramedics from reaching the scene and treating those potentially injured.

The attack is the latest in four months of near-daily clashes.

At least 167 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since October, 32 of them under the age of 18.

During the same period, 25 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean have been killed by Palestinians.

Israel says a Palestinian campaign of incitement is fanning the violence, while Palestinians say it is stemming from nearly five decades of Israeli occupation.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday he was "ashamed" at a lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

"I feel guilty, ashamed of the lack of progress," he told an event organised by foreign affairs think-tank Chatham House in London.

"Basically it's up to the leadership of Israel and the Palestinians to put an end to the conflict. I am not working for a particular country or a particular policy but for the people in the region."

I feel guilty, ashamed of the lack of progress... Basically it's up to the leadership of Israel and the Palestinians to put an end to the conflict
- Ban Ki-moon

The peace process has been deadlocked since a US peace mission collapsed in April 2014.

UN diplomats say Ban is hoping to get peace talks moving again before he steps down as secretary-general at the end of the year.

But last month, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused him of "encouraging terrorism" after the UN chief said it was understandable that the Palestinians were resisting Israeli military rule.

Israel seized the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.

Israel occupied the Gaza Strip in the 1967 war and pulled its troops and settlers out in 2005 but still exercises control over most of Gaza's borders, waters and airspace.