Why Israel-Palestine violence is on a rise in West Bank
Family of the 17 year old boy who was killed by Israeli forces on Thursday (September 15) mourning at his death. Photo: Getty Images
In a recent clash, in the Israel-occupied West Bank, the Israeli forces killed a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager Odai Salah on Thursday (September 15), Palestinian authority said. The Israeli army killed the boy near the city of Jenin.
This brings to light once again the hightened tensions between Israel and Palestine.
What Happened? The boy, Odai Trad Salah, is alleged to have been shotin the head on Thursday morning at his village Kufr Dan on the outskirts of Jenin by the Israeli forces. The Israeli forces raided the homes of two Palestinians on Wednesday.
The two men Ahmed Abed (23) and Abdul Rahman Abed (22) had killed an Israeli soldier in an exchange of fire. On Thursday, the Israeli forces were carrying out a procedure to demolish the homes of their families. Israel forces are known to be deomlishing the houses of Palestinians who retaliate against the attacks of Israeli forces. This move of Israel is also condemned by the human rights groups, which have called it "collective punishment".
In fact, the Palestinian authority said that since the start of the year, 149 Palestinians have been killed out of which 98 happened at the West Bank.
What is West Bank and why it is the centre of dispute? The West Bank is a piece of land east of Israel. It has around 3 million Palestinians. Israel took control of the area after a war in 1967 and allowed the Jewish settlers to settle in. But Palestinians and much of international community considers this occupation as Illegal.
In 1967, Israel had a war with Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Israel fired the first shot and claimed it did so as a preemptive action against an imminent Egyptian attack. Arabs disagreed and called Israel the aggressor.
After the war, Israel occupied East Jerusalem and West Bank and most of Syrian Golan heights, Gaza and Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.
Israel never allowed many Palestinians settlers to come back to their homes saying that the move would overwhelm the country and threaten its existence as Jewish state.
There are nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers living in Israel.