By Anees Bargouthi

RAMALLAH (AA) – A Palestinian teen was gunned down on Tuesday night by the Israeli army during clashes in the occupied West Bank.

Muhey al-Tabakhi, 12, died after a rubber bullet fired by Israeli forces struck his chest during clashes in the central town of al-Ram, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement.

Eyewitnesses said an Israeli army sharpshooter shot the child from a close range, after the soldiers invaded the town, and clashed with many local youngsters, who hurled stones at the military vehicles.

Israeli police said the violence broke out when Israeli forces were allegedly attacked while returning the body of a dead Palestinian.

Israeli forces responded with teargas and stun grenades, the police said.

The killing of the Palestinian child led to extended clashes between the soldiers and local youths, especially close to the military base, built on Palestinian lands near the town. The soldiers fired dozens of gas bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets, causing several injuries.

According to Palestinian figures, more than 200 Palestinians have been killed after allegedly carrying out attacks or in clashes with Israeli forces since October.

Forty Israelis have been killed in the same period.

Israel is still holding captive the bodies of 14 Palestinians, who were killed by its military; half of them are from Jerusalem, and the rest are the different parts of the West Bank.

Also on Tuesday, 51-year-old Mustafa Baradeyya, was announced dead from wounds sustained by Israeli fire on Monday.

The soldiers shot Mustafa with two bullets in the stomach for reportedly stabbing and lightly wounding two soldiers at the entrance of Al-Arroub refugee camp, to the south of Bethlehem.

Author Aness Suheil Barghoti

Additional reporting from Imemc.org

[Photo: Muhey al-Tabakhi, 12, shot dead by Israeli forces on 20 July 2016. Photo from Imemc.org]