JENIN, April 28, 2015 (WAFA) – Israeli soldiers late Monday opened fire and seriously injured a Palestinian youth in the village of al-Araka,  west of Jenin, before he succumbed to his wounds at hospital a few hours later, according to local sources.

The youth, Mohammad Morad Yahya, 21, was present at his family’s land, located near the separation wall, along with his two cousins when Israeli army patrols opened fire at them, seriously injuring him, witnesses reported. Yahya was transferred to a hospital in Nablus for medical treatment, where he was pronounced dead  a few hours later.

Shortly afterwards, an Israeli army force stormed the village and kidnapped Yahya’s two cousins, Ayman and Imad.

Yahya is the third Palestinian killed by Israeli soldiers in less than four days; on Saturday, two Palestinians were shot dead in two separate incidents in Jerusalem and Hebron.

Israeli police justified the killing by saying that the two Palestinians, identified as Mohammad Abu Ghannam and Mahmoud Abu Jhaisheh, attempted to stab officers of the Israeli Border Police and army.

According to Human Rights Watch, the Israeli military has a poor record of bringing soldiers to justice for such acts.

Since September 2000, the Israeli military has convicted only six soldiers for the unlawful killing of Palestinians; the most severe sentence imposed was seven-and-a-half months in prison, according to the Israeli rights group Yesh Din.

M.N./T.R.