Palestinian toddler dies after being shot by Israeli troops in West Bank

Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank shot and killed a 3-year-old Palestinian boy last week, according to Israeli hospital officials. Mohammed Al-Tamimi was riding in a car with his father near their village of Nebi Saleh when he was shot in the head. The boy’s father, Haitham Al-Tamimi, was also shot and treated at a Palestinian hospital. The Israeli military claims it opened fire after gunmen in the area shot at an Israeli guard post at a nearby Jewish settlement. However, rights groups say that investigations into such incidents rarely lead to prosecution or disciplinary action against soldiers. The shooting is the latest in a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which has picked up since Israel’s new far-right government took office in late December. Nearly 120 Palestinians have been killed in the two areas this year, with nearly half of them members of armed militant groups. Meanwhile, Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis in those areas have killed at least 21 people. Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem illegal or obstacles to peace.