Palestinians say teen killed by IDF gunfire; military says group threw rocks at road
Mohammad Hamad, 16, dies of wounds; IDF says troops opened fire while carrying out arrest after group threw stones at highway near settlement; no further clarification given
A Palestinian teen died of his wounds hours after he was shot by Israeli troops on Friday, Palestinian officials said.
Mohammad Hamad, 16, was a resident of the village of Silwad, near Ramallah.
He was shot and wounded on Friday evening and died hours later, an unnamed Silwad councilor told AFP on Saturday.
The teen was near a road leading to the neighboring settlement of Ofra when he was shot, the councilor said.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said that Hamed was wounded by Israeli gunfire and then taken away by Israeli forces. It said the teen died in Israeli custody, and that the army was expected to release the body later Saturday.
A spokesperson for Israel Defense Forces told Army Radio that there was a group throwing rocks at the road, and that troops opened fire while carrying out an arrest.
There was no clarification given as to why the troops had opened fire during the arrest procedure.
Settlers have said that there has been an increase in stoning incidents on roads in the West Bank in recent months.
Israeli security forces have stepped up their operations in the West Bank following a deadly wave of terror attacks inside Israel that left 19 people dead since March 22.
At least 46 Palestinians were killed over the same period, according to Palestinian officials.
Some were shot by Israeli soldiers while committing terror attacks, while others were engaged in violent gunfights with soldiers, and still others — such as Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh — were bystanders.
