Palestinian teenager arrested over alleged car ramming attack in occupied lands

Israeli troops have arrested a Palestinian teenager after a police officer was killed in an alleged car ramming attack in the central part of the occupied territories, amid heightened tensions between Israeli forces and Palestinians.

The Israeli police alleged in a statement that a 17-year-old from the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah ran over 29-year-old Sergeant Major Barak Meshulam at a checkpoint on Highway 4 near Ra'anana late on Saturday night.

The road was subsequently closed in both directions as large forces made their way to the scene.

The statement further claimed that the unnamed Palestinian teenager was allegedly driving a car he had stolen in the Tel Aviv area, and was being pursued by police when he ran over Mesulam.

The police officer was found lying dead on the road, the Israeli Magen David Adom ambulance service asserted.

The suspect was said to have exited the vehicle, attempting to flee on foot. A police helicopter then helped Israeli forces locate and arrest him shortly afterwards.

Israeli Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the incident, and were interrogating the suspect.

Separately, two Palestinians have been injured during clashes with Israeli forces after the latter raided the city of Tubas, located northeast of Nablus, on Sunday morning.

Media sources said several Israeli army jeeps rolled into the city, triggering confrontations with local residents.

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Israeli soldiers then fired live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades to disperse the protesting crowd.

The sources added that medics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society provided treatment to two Palestinians, who were struck with live rounds in the legs and moved them to a nearby hospital. Their injuries have been described as moderate.

In a related development, Israeli forces stormed the Palestinian town of Tuqu', located 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) southeast of Bethlehem, and ransacked a number of homes in the area.

The Israeli soldiers also summoned a young Palestinian man, identified as Bara’ Raed al-‘Amour, for interrogation at Etzion military base.

For months, Israeli forces have been attacking Palestinian workers along the separation wall in the villages and towns of the West Bank, preventing thousands from reaching their workplaces inside the occupied territories and arresting many.

Israeli forces shot dead a young Palestinian man during confrontations that broke out between Palestinians and regime forces following a military raid in the northern part of West Bank earlier this month.

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The official Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing Palestinian security sources who asked not to be named, reported that the man, identified as 20-year-old Rafiq Riyad Ghanam, was severely injured on July 6 in the village of Jaba', located 8 kilometers (5 miles) southwest of the city of Jenin.

The sources added that Ghanam was shot as he was standing in front of his family's house, before he was detained by Israeli soldiers along with another young Palestinian man. Ghanam later succumbed to his gunshot wounds.

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