An Israeli soldier fires at a Palestinian demonstration (Archive)

The Arab Care Hospital reported that 18-year-old Wasim Abu Khalifa, from the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, succumbed to his injuries after he was shot during an Israeli raid on Nablus.

والدة الشـ.هــيد وسيم خليفة تلقي عليه نظرة الوداع الأخيرة 💔 pic.twitter.com/e0zR1f0sPw
— #سعوديون_مع_الاقصى (@Saudis2018) August 18, 2022

Earlier, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed the eastern area of Nablus with dozens of military vehicles, heading toward Qaber Youssef (Joseph's Tomb).

The IOF, accompanied by Israeli settlers, both in large numbers, stormed Al-Quds and Amman Streets in the vicinity of Qaber Youssef (Joseph's Tomb) east of Nablus, and the Askar and Balata refugee camps.

The IOF shot live munition at the Palestinians and heavily deployed tear gas and stun grenades, leading to various injuries.

Ahmed Jibril, director of the emergency and first aid center of the Red Crescent in Nablus, said that the confrontations resulted in the injury of 31 civilians, of whom four were shot with live bullets and three are in critical condition.

“Israel’s” shoot to kill policy

This comes less than two weeks after IOF executed three Palestinians, one of whom was 17 years old.

Palestinian Mohammad Shaham died of severe wounds due to live bullets shot by Israeli forces to his head at dawn Monday after Israeli occupation forces stormed his house in Kafr 'Aqab, northwest Al-Quds.

The martyr's father, Ibrahim Shaham, stated that special Israeli forces raided his house late in the night, shooting his son at point-blank range in the head, leaving him to bleed on the ground for over 40 minutes before arresting him.

“Israel’s” execution of Palestinians is not new nor shocking. However, Israeli forces have significantly escalated the killing and repression of Palestinians in recent days, following a green light from Israeli officials, according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.

The Euro-Med Monitor reported the killing of at least 18 Palestinians who did not pose any threat, including children, in the first half of this month.

By 2022, at least 47 Palestinians were murdered by IOF, including 15 children and two women.

Although the IOF’s shoot-to-kill policy was already flexible and frequently resulted in killings of Palestinians without justification or proportionality, the new instructions made pulling the trigger easier for the soldiers, giving them a shield from any accountability.