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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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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.