Two other teenagers, also aged 14, were wounded in the same incident near the town of Turmus Ayya, which lies northeast of Ramallah and has a sizeable population of Palestinian-Americans.
The Israeli military stated its troops fired on three “terrorists” throwing stones at passing vehicles, posing a threat to civilian drivers. One was fatally shot, while two were wounded.
According to local officials, the slain teenager, identified as Omar Mohammed Saada Rabea, was shot at the entrance to Turmus Ayya.
However, the Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the killing as part of a series of “extrajudicial” actions by Israeli forces.
In the West Bank, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed during Israeli search-and-arrest raids aimed at “preventing further Palestinian assaults on Israelis.”
Calls for accountability
A spokesman for the Palestinian Authority decried the “use of live fire against three children” and warned that “Israel’s continued impunity” fosters more such incidents.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has described the situation in the West Bank as “extremely alarming,” reporting that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and thousands displaced since and before Israel’s major campaign against “armed groups” began in early 2023.
Israel disputes international claims that its settlements in the West Bank violate international law.
(jh)
Source: BBC, Reuters, Rzeczpospolita