Israeli troops shoot Palestinian teenager in Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers have shot and injured a young Palestinian man in the northern Gaza Strip, Press TV reports.

Palestinian medical personnel said the 17-year-old, identified as Jameel Heesha, was shot in his left leg on Friday evening in the Jabaliya refugee camp, which is located near the northern border of the besieged enclave.

The medics added that the youth was taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

On April 11, a physically disabled Palestinian man was arrested by Israeli troops after being shot and wounded in the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron).

Motazz Obeidu, 32, was seriously injured when Israeli forces attacked his shop, according to a prisoners' rights group and local residents.

The Israeli army confirmed the arrest and the shooting and claimed that the Palestinian man had acted “violently.” An army spokeswoman accused Obeidu of “throwing an axe, a gas canister, and a wheelbarrow at soldiers, injuring two of them."

But the Ramallah-based Prisoners Club said the victim was "physically disabled" and stated they were holding the Israeli regime responsible for the man’s life.

Gaza has been blockaded since June 2007, which is a situation that has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.

The apartheid regime of Israel denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator James W. Rawley said on April 10 that a new round of Israeli restrictions on the Gaza Strip is impacting food supplies and would have "serious" effects if continued.

"Israel has announced a series of heightened restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from the Gaza Strip, including closures of the Kerem Shalom crossing," he said in a statement.

Rawley added, "These measures are resulting in the depletion of stocks of essential supplies, including basic foodstuffs and cooking gas, and undermine the livelihoods and rights of many vulnerable Gazan families.

"If these restrictions continue, the effect upon the Gaza population will be serious."

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