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.



Lebanon's New President Says to Ensure State Has Exclusive Right to Carry Arms

This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
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Lebanon's New President Says to Ensure State Has Exclusive Right to Carry Arms

This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)

Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun told lawmakers on Thursday that he will work to ensure the state has the exclusive right to carry arms, in his first speech at parliament after he was elected.

His comments were seen partly as a reference to Hezbollah's arsenal, which he had not commented on publicly as the former army commander.

In a first round of voting Thursday, Aoun received 71 out of 128 votes but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to win outright. Of the rest, 37 lawmakers cast blank ballots and 14 voted for “sovereignty and the constitution.”
In the second round, he received 99 votes.

In his speech in parliament, Aoun also pledged to carry out reforms to the judicial system and fight corruption.

He promised to control the country’s borders and “ensure the activation of the security services and to discuss a strategic defense policy that will enable the Lebanese state to remove the Israeli occupation from all Lebanese territories” in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli military has not yet withdrawn from dozens of villages.

He also vowed to reconstruct “what the Israeli army destroyed in the south, east and (Beirut’s southern) suburbs.”

Thursday’s vote came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and at a time when Lebanon’s leaders are seeking international assistance for reconstruction.

Aoun said he would call for parliamentary consultations as soon as possible on naming a new prime minister.