Jerusalem (Web Desk): Israeli police killed a 16-year-old Palestinian near the West Bank separation barrier on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry said, while in Jerusalem's Old City, an alleged Palestinian attacker was killed after stabbing and injuring two Israelis.
The outbreak of violence came as tens of thousands of worshippers were flocking to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque for noon prayers on the last Friday in the holy fasting month of Ramazan.
Israeli police shot and killed 16-year-old Abdullah Ghaith near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, the Palestinian ministry said, adding that another 21-year-old Palestinian was wounded by a live bullet to the stomach.
The police said that the Palestinian teenager was shot while attempting to climb over the heavily guarded separation barrier from Bethlehem into Jerusalem. The police added that they were launching a probe into the incident.
The boy's father, Louai Ghaith, said his son had been trying to enter Jerusalem to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque for the holy day. Ghaith's body was brought to a Bethlehem hospital, where his family identified him.
“He was going to fulfill his religious duty, he was going to worship,” Ghaith said. “They killed him... with a bullet to his heart, like a game, and 16 years I've been raising him.”