2 Young Palestinians Die as Nablus Violence Rekindles

Palestinians, one a 12-year-old boy, were shot dead in Nablus on Friday in the third major outbreak of violence in the occupied West Bank’s largest city in two weeks.

Officials at Nablus’s Al Ittihad Hospital said troops shot Tariq Tufaha, 12, through the heart early in the morning, then killed Ata Younis, 18, in a clash at the funeral.

An army spokesman said Younis died after troops opened fire with plastic bullets on Palestinians who hurled concrete blocks and iron bars at them. But he denied that soldiers were involved in Tufaha’s death.

“The army is continuing to investigate, and there is a possibility that he was shot by local residents,” the spokesman said.

Palestinians said the Nablus violence was sparked by recent brutal army behavior during prolonged curfews.

They said soldiers of the elite Golani Infantry unit broke into residents’ homes and beat more than 100 people, at least half of whom needed medical treatment afterward.

Al Ittihad and an Anglican hospital reported treating 48 people for injuries from beatings in the last week.

The cycle of violence in Nablus began Sept. 2 when troops stormed a house and shot dead two long-wanted Palestinian activists, wounding three others who were captured.