Mohammed Daadas
© CourtesyMohammed Daadas, 13, shot and killed by IDF troops
A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and killed by Israeli forces near Nablus on Friday afternoon, Palestinian Authority health officials said. According to the PA health ministry, the boy arrived at a Nablus hospital with bullet wounds to his stomach. He died despite the efforts of medical staff, the ministry said.

Local Palestinian media identified the 13-year-old as Muhammad Daadas.

Clashes took place between Israeli forces and local Palestinians in the village of Deir al-Hatab village, east of Nablus, before Daadas's death. The Israeli army said its forces had responded to a riot near the nearby Israeli settlement of Alon Moreh.

"During the disturbance, rioters threw stones at Israeli soldiers. The troops responded with riot dispersal means and live fire," an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said.

The army said it was "checking" reports of a Palestinian casualty. The Palestinian Red Crescent said 71 other people were wounded in clashes, most of them suffering from the effects of tear gas inhalation.
IDF grenade
© Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFPMember of the Israeli security forces tosses a tear gas canister toward Palestinian protesters during a demonstration east of Nablus in the West Bank.

Palestinian reports said the demonstrators were protesting against Israeli settlements and that troops used tear gas, stun grenades and live fire to disperse the demonstrations.

Two other Palestinians were injured Friday in clashes in Beita, another West Bank village where locals have protested for months against the establishment of an illegal settlement outpost.

Hamas spokesperson Hazim Qasim said the Hamas terror group mourned the 13-year-old, calling his death "a war crime."
"This blood shall be the fuel for our people's revolution, which will not rest until it achieves its goals."
The clashes come days after Israel announced it would advance plans for 3,000 more homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank, despite international criticism. Israel also advanced plans to build about 1,300 homes for Palestinians in the West Bank.

The settlement housing, the first to be advanced since United States President Joe Biden took office, sparked widespread condemnation in the international community. Many view Israeli construction in the West Bank as a serious obstacle to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters last Tuesday:
"We are deeply concerned about the Israeli government's plan to advance thousands of settlement units on Wednesday, many of them deep in the West Bank."
Settlement construction has also split the diverse, fragile coalition that currently governs Israel. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a former leader in the settler movement, maintains power with the left-wing Meretz and Labor parties and the Arab Ra'am party, which strongly oppose settlements.