PALESTINIAN BOY KILLED BY ISRAELI FORCES IN WEST BANK REFUGEE CAMP

BETHLEHEM/JERUSALEM, July 24 (NNN-XINHUA) - A Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli gun fire, on Monday, after an Israeli military raid into the Dheisheh Refugee Camp, in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The Palestinian boy, identified as 15-year-old Arkan Mezher, was shot in the chest and heart, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Two were injured and at least three others were arrested, during the military raid into the camp, as young Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces, said Palestinian sources.

Israeli soldiers stormed into a number of homes in the refugee camp, before the clashes erupted, they added.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said, it was investigating the killing of the Palestinian boy in the West Bank.

A military spokesman said, in a statement, that, the Palestinians "hurled rocks and threw firebombs and grenades at Israel Defence Forces soldiers."

"In response, the soldiers used riot dispersal means and .22-caliber rounds, while firing live rounds selectively," the spokesperson added.

The Dheisheh camp is located near Bethlehem, an area supposed to be under full Palestinian control, but often raided by the Israeli army, which triggers clashes with young Palestinians.-- NNN-XINHUA