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.
@AFP report: "Salah Zakareneh, 17, was shot during a 'violent clash' between Palestinian 'security forces + armed men in the Qabatiya area late Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement." https://t.co/ZwcK6ivNr2
— Marian Houk (@Marianhouk) February 19, 2020
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.
PA Official: Security Cooperation with #Israel is Continuous https#//buff.ly/2P46Bd0 via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/cI4qKO0XDZ
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 18, 2020
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’.
#PALESTINIAN RESEARCH Latest: 94% Palestinians reject “Deal of the Century;” large majorities call for withdrawal of PA recognition of Israel, ending security coordination with Israel. Support for the two-state
solution drops to its lowest level since Oslo https://t.co/KPrgKa5Vyb pic.twitter.com/iQIuwK9oLB— Children of Peace (@ChildrenofPeace) February 11, 2020
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)
