The US says it is “devastated” over the killing of a Palestinian-American teen yesterday in a reported clash with security forces in the West Bank.
“We call for an urgent investigation to determine the circumstances of his death,” the US Office for Palestinian Affairs says in a tweet.
The 17-year-old, Tawfiq Hafiz Ajaq, was according to reports hit in the head with live ammunition during a Friday evening incident in the West Bank town of Al-Mazra’a Al-Sharqiya, which according to Reuters included stone-throwing.
WAFA reported that Ajaq sustained critical injuries before being pronounced dead at the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah.
Jabbar was reportedly shot in an incident in which an off-duty policeman, a soldier and a civilian opened fire in circumstances under investigation.
According to AP, there was a pledge from Israeli authorities to investigate.
Relatives carry the body of 17-year-old American Tawfiq Ajaq at his funeral in his family’s Palestinian home village in Al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya, West Bank, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (AP/Nasser Nasser)
Ajaq was born and raised in Gretna, Louisiana, near New Orleans, relatives said. His parents brought him and his four siblings to the village of Al-Mazra’a Ash-Sharqiya in the West Bank last year so they could reconnect with Palestinian culture.
The teen was buried on Saturday.
During the funeral, Ajaq’s father criticized the long-standing US support for Israel. “They are using our tax dollars in the US to support the weapons to kill our own children,” he charged.
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