Palestinians file UN complaint accusing settler of killing schoolgirl

Yizhar resident turns himself in at nearby settlement; police say incident was an accident

UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinians are accusing an Israeli settler of running over two schoolgirls, killing one of them, and speeding away.

Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour said in a letter Monday to the UN Security Council that the two girls got off a school bus in the West Bank town of Sinjil on Sunday and were hit while walking to their mothers across the street. He said Inas Khalil, 5, died several hours later and Nilin Asfour, 8, is in critical condition.

Residents of the Palestinian town accused the driver, 29, of the Yitzhar settlement, of deliberately hitting the girls.

The driver told police he did not stop after striking the girls because he feared for his life due to the crowd that had gathered around the injured girls, according to Ynet. He stopped in the nearest Jewish community, Ofra, where he reported the accident and turned himself in.

Israel Police said a preliminary investigation showed that the incident was an accident, according to Ynet.

Mansour accused “extremist terrorist settlers” of several other hit-and-run acts in the past few months.

He said Israel is responsible for all crimes committed by the settlers, and called on the international community to compel Israel “to reign in the terror and violence being perpetrated by its settlers.”

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