Mona Kandil
Press TV, Ramallah
Another bloody day has been witnessed in the occupied West Bank, this time in Jenin where 17-year-old Palestinian teen Mohammed Abu Salah was killed in the village of Silat al-Harithiya, as Israeli troops raided the town on Sunday night, to demolish the home of Palestinian prisoner Muhammad Jaradat.
Dozens of Palestinians were injured by live ammunition and rubber bullets, fired by the Israeli forces towards the protesters who rushed to the area to prevent the demolition.
Jaradat is a prisoner accused of carrying out a shooting last December that led to the killing of an Israeli settler near the illegal settlement of Homesh.
Tension continues to remain high for the third consecutive day in the neighborhood of Sheik Jarrah. Clashes have been breaking out between Palestinian residents of the neighborhood and Israeli settlers and soldiers.
Paramedics say over 30 Palestinians have been injured. A dozen others were also detained. The clashes came shortly after far-right Knesset member, Itamar Ben-Gvir, announced that he would be setting up an office in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to protect settlers. Ben-Gavir had erected a tent in the front yard of Salm family home, another family in Sheikh Jarrah facing imminent expulsion.
Several Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah face potential eviction by settler organizations, all following last year’s tensions and the May war between the Israeli regime and armed groups in the Gaza Strip.
Observers warn that Israel’s continued aggression against the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and its escalating violence across the occupied territories could be the spark that would set the entire region ablaze. Palestinians say they will remain steadfast and Tel Aviv’s violence will not stop them from defending their rights.