News - Middle East: Defense for Children International - Palestine has reported the killing of 29 children by Zionist enemy forces’ bullets in the West Bank, including occupied Quds, since the beginning of this year, 10 of them from Jenin governorate.

The movement said, in a press statement today, Thursday, that the Israeli enemy forces continue to target Palestinian children in various areas of the occupied West Bank.

It pointed out that "all the children were killed by live bullets in the upper parts of the body, which indicates that the shooting at them was with intent to kill them."

It also pointed out that "the occupation forces launched what they called Operation Breaking the Wave on March 31, as they intensified arrests in Palestinian cities in the West Bank, especially the city of Jenin and its camp, which led to an increase in the number of the killed Palestinian children by these forces' fire."

It stressed the need to open professional, transparent and impartial investigations into the shooting incidents, and to punish the occupation soldiers who target the protesters and children.

The global movement stressed that as long as there is no punishment for the occupation forces for their crimes against Palestinian children, they will continue to target them with the intent of killing, injuring, or arresting, taking advantage of the impunity they enjoy.

Early on Tuesday morning, large numbers of Israeli forces stormed the city of Nablus, located approximately 49 kilometers (30 miles) north of al-Quds.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, five Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire.

Palestinian health and security officials said one of those killed was unarmed. They identified the victims as 26-year-old Ali Khaled Antar, Mishal Baghdadi, 27; Wadee al-Hawah, 31; Hamdi Qayyem, 30; and 35-year-old Hamdi Mohamed Sharaf.

The Palestinian Health Ministry later reported that another Palestinian youth, Qusay al-Tamimi, was killed during confrontations with Israeli forces in the village of Nabi Saleh near the city of Ramallah.

Meanwhile, Gaza-based Palestinian resistance groups have convened an emergency meeting, and called for national mourning, major strikes and protest rallies across the occupied Palestinian territories in the aftermath of assassination of five Palestinian men killed by Israeli forces during a raid in Nablus.

Israeli forces have also recently been conducting overnight raids and killings in the northern occupied West Bank, mainly in the cities of Jenin and Nablus, where new groups of Palestinian resistance fighters have been formed.

At least 180 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the illegally occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip since the beginning of the year, including 51 Palestinians during Israel’s three-day assault on Gaza in August, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Local and international rights groups have condemned Israel’s excessive use of force and “shoot-to-kill policy” against Palestinians.