Palestinian toddler dies of wounds from Israeli army fire

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – A two-year-old Palestinian child died Monday of wounds sustained from Israeli army fire in the West Bank city of Ramallah last week, according to the Health Ministry.

Mohammad Haitham Tamimi was seriously injured on Thursday when Israeli forces opened fire on a Palestinian car in the town of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah. His father was injured in the attack.

The toddler was transferred by an Israeli helicopter to hospital inside Israel for medical attention, but he succumbed to his wounds on Monday.

A Health Ministry statement said preparations were underway to transfer the child’s body from Israel to Ramallah for burial.

The Israeli army said an initial investigation showed that two Palestinian gunmen allegedly opened fire on a nearby settlement with Israeli forces responding to fire.

The army said the toddler was mistakenly shot and regretted “harm to [noncombatants] and works to prevent such incident."

The child’s father, however, denied the Israeli narrative, saying that there was no exchange of fire in the area and accused Israeli forces of directly opening fire on his car.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank in recent months amid repeated Israeli raids into Palestinian towns.

According to Palestinian figures, more than 155 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of this year. At least 21 Israelis have also been killed in separate attacks during the same period.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar