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Israeli Forces Kill Two Palestinians in Separate Events

Palestinian relatives of 16 years old of Abdullah Ghaith mourn over his death at al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron on May 31, 2019. - AFP
Palestinian relatives of 16 years old of Abdullah Ghaith mourn over his death at al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron on May 31, 2019. - AFP
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Israeli Forces Kill Two Palestinians in Separate Events

Palestinian relatives of 16 years old of Abdullah Ghaith mourn over his death at al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron on May 31, 2019. - AFP
Palestinian relatives of 16 years old of Abdullah Ghaith mourn over his death at al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron on May 31, 2019. - AFP

Israeli forces killed a 16-year-old Palestinian near the West Bank separation barrier on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Abdullah Ghaith was killed near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, the Ministry stated, adding that another 21-year-old Palestinian was wounded by a live bullet to the stomach.

Israeli police said that the Palestinian teenager was shot while attempting to climb over the heavily guarded separation barrier from Bethlehem into Jerusalem, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

A probe was launched into the incident, according to Israeli officials.

Louai Ghaith, the boy's father, said his son had been trying to enter Jerusalem to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque for the holy day.

"He was going to fulfill his religious duty, he was going to worship," Ghaith said. "They killed him... with a bullet to his heart, like a game, and 16 years I've been raising him."

Meanwhile, Israeli police also shot dead a 19-year-old Palestinian, saying he is suspected of carrying out two stabbings near Damascus Gate.

The Palestinian was shot by security forces while running through the Old City's Muslim quarter, Israeli police claimed.

According to AP, the Palestinian Health Ministry identified the teen as Yousef Wajih, from a village near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

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Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
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Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.
The outcome reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year's war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.
The presidency, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate able to win enough votes in the 128-seat parliament.
Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in a first round vote, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in a second round, according to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, after lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally the Amal Movement backed him.
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah's long preferred candidate, Suleiman Franjieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as French envoy shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
Aoun's election is a first step towards reviving government institutions in a country which has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.
Lebanon, its economy still reeling from a devastating financial collapse in 2019, is in dire need of international support to rebuild from the war, which the World Bank estimates cost the country $8.5 billion.
Lebanon's system of government requires the new president to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.
Aoun has a key role in shoring up a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Aoun, 60, has been commander of the Lebanese army since 2017.