The IDF opened fire on a Palestinian youth it said was attempting to cross into
Israel from the West Bank on Tuesday morning.
The youth later died at a
Ramallah hospital.
An initial army investigation found that a violent
disturbance had occurred near the village of Budrus, northwest of Ramallah,
during which the youth attempted to cut through the security fence in that
area.
The youth got through the fence, army sources said. Soldiers then
attempted to stop him, verbally at first, shouting warnings, and then by firing
in the air, before firing at the youth.
The IDF is continuing to
investigate the incident.
An official statement released by the IDF
Spokesman’s Office said the teenager had tried to breach the security
fence.
Palestinian sources identified the youth as 16-year-old Sameer
Awwad of Budrus, adding that he had been shot three times.
A statement
from the Palestinian Popular Struggle Coordination Committee cited eye witnesses
as saying that the youth “was walking away from light clashes with IDF troops
when he was shot, once in the the chest, once in the neck and once in his
leg.”
The statement added that Awwad had been shot at from a range of 100
meters, and that “one bullet hit his leg, another entered the back of his neck
and exited near his eyebrow, and the third entered his rib cage and exited from
his chest.”
The committee said Awwad is the fourth Palestinian to have
been killed this week by the IDF in the West Bank.
On Saturday, a
Palestinian man was shot and killed.
The IDF said he was attempting to
infiltrate Israel from the South Hebron Hills region.