RAMALLAH: A 16-year-old Palestinian was killed in clashes between the Israeli military and stone-throwers in a West Bank village on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the teen as Laith Abu Naim and said he was killed by a shot to the head. The Israeli military denied using live fire amid a “violent riot” in which dozens of Palestinians rolled burning tires and hurled rocks at troops.
Mayor Faraj Al-Nasan said an Israeli military patrol entered the village of Mughayer and that local teens started throwing stones. Al-Nasan said the soldiers were in military vehicles and there was no threat to their lives when one of them opened fire.
The military said troops responded with “riot dispersal means,” usually tear gas and stun grenades. The military said it was aware of the death and that it was investigating.
The teen’s death brought to 18 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in confrontations since President Donald Trump’s Dec. 6 recognition of contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. An Israeli man was killed in a Palestinian shooting attack earlier this month.
Israeli troops kill Palestinian teen in West Bank clash
Israeli troops kill Palestinian teen in West Bank clash
Putin hosts Syria’s interim leader for talks, with Russian military bases on the agenda
- Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa first visited Russia in October
MOSCOW: Syria’s interim leader arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for his second visit in less than four months for talks expected to focus on the future of Russian military bases in the country.
Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa first visited Russia in October. He led a swift rebel offensive in December 2024 that ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad, who enjoyed Moscow’s support for years as his government fought a devastating civil war.
Russia, which in recent years has been focused on the fighting in Ukraine and kept only a small military contingent in Syria, didn’t try to counter the rebel offensive. It gave asylum to Assad and his family after he fled the country.
Despite having been on opposite during the civil war, the interim government in Damascus has signaled readiness to develop ties with Moscow in apparent hopes it could help rebuild the war-shattered country and offer a way to diversify its foreign policy.
For the Kremlin, it’s essential to keep its naval and air bases on Syria’s coast, the only such outposts outside the former Soviet Union that are crucial for maintaining Russia’s military presence in the Mediterranean. Russian authorities have voiced hope for negotiating a deal to maintain the Hmeimim air base and the naval outpost in Tartus.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ahead of the meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Al-Sharaa that “all issues related to our military’s presence in Syria will be discussed in the talks.”
In recent days, Russian forces have begun pulling out of positions in northeastern Syria in an area still controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces after the group lost most of its territory in an offensive by government forces.
