Israeli army kills 14-year-old Palestinian, while Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir storms Al-Aqsa

The Israeli military killed a 14-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said on Thursday, 27 July, as an extremist Israeli minister stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound with hundreds of illegal settlers. 

Itamar Ben-Gvir's storming to the hilltop compound came as a year-and-a-half-long escalation of violence by Israeli forces showed no signs of abating. 

Also, early Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said 14-year-old Fares Sharhabil Abu Samra was killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank town of Qalqilya. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Israeli forces have killed more than 200 Palestinians and arrested more than 3,900 since the beginning of 2023, according to reports by the Palestinian health ministry, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club and human rights groups.

Ben-Gvir was joining hundreds of Jewish settlers storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to mark the Jewish holiday of TishaB'Avv, a day of mourning and repentance when Jews reflect on the destruction of the First and Second Temples, critical events in Jewish history.

"This is the most critical place for the people of Israel, which we must return to and show our rule," Ben-Gvir said in a video released by his office, with the golden Dome of the Rock in the background.

Ben-Gvir, a former occupied West Bank settler leader and far-right fanatic who years ago was convicted of incitement and supporting a Jewish terror group, now serves as Israel's national security minister, overseeing the country's police force.

Thursday was Ben-Gvir's third known storming to the site  - the third-holiest in Islam - since becoming a minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government.