Palestinian Teen Killed during ‘Violent Clash’ with PA Security Forces

Salah Zakareneh, 17, was shot during a clash with Palestinian security forces. (Photo: via Twitter)

A Palestinian teenager died on Tuesday after being shot in Qabatiya, a village south of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

The boy, identified as 17-year-old Salah Zakareneh, was shot during a “violent clash” with Palestinian “security forces and armed men in the Qabatiya area,” according to a statement released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Violence reportedly erupted during celebrations following the release of a prisoner from an Israeli jail.

Palestinian Authority (PA) Jenin Governor Akram Rajoub said, in a video published on Facebook, that PA security forces were deployed to Qabatiya after information was obtained that a “military-style demonstration” would take place there.

Rajoub said that on arrival in the village, gunmen opened fire and hurled rocks at PA security forces, which responded with tear gas, while some officers shot bullets into the air.

The Jenin governor did not explicitly address whether Zakareneh was shot by PA security forces or Palestinian gunmen, but blamed the latter for causing “the chaos”.

Despite several calls for answers, Rajoub refused to clarify exact events.

Hamas spokesperson Hazen Qassim has since accused Palestinian security forces of firing a bullet at Zakarneh, which, he said, proves “the logic of thuggery that the services employ against our people”.

Security coordination between Israel and Palestine security forces has been viewed as controversial and widely unpopular among the Palestinian public.

On February 1, Abbas claimed that the PA had cut all ties with the US and Israeli governments, including the so-called security coordination, following the announcement by Washington of its Middle East ‘peace plan’. 

However, senior PA official Nabil Abu Rudeineh announced on February 17 that security cooperation with Israel was continuous, during a meeting with Israeli journalists in Ramallah.

“Abbas’s periodic threats to cease such coordination cannot be taken seriously,” wrote renowned journalist and writer Ramona Wadi in a recent article.

“As far as quashing Palestinian political dissent and resistance, the agreement with Israel is the best that the colonizer and collaborator can get. In terms of political engagement, security coordination provides the PA with the much-needed funds to sustain its existence,” Wadi added.

(Palestine Chronicle, MEMO, Social Media)

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