Israeli troops ‘mistakenly’ kill Palestine boy, injure 3

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager and wounded four others as they returned from a swimming pool on Tuesday after apparently mistaking them for stone-throwers, sparking outrage and drawing renewed attention to open fire rules.

Palestinian officials harshly condemned the shooting, saying the 15-year-old was “murdered” while travelling in a car with two brothers and two other teenagers in the occupied West Bank.

Circumstances surrounding the incident were unclear and the Israeli army was investigating, but the military said in a stark admission that it appeared those shot were “uninvolved bystanders”.

The Army said the overnight shooting followed stone-throwing at cars along a road that cuts through the West Bank for several miles on its way from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

Israeli media reported two foreigners and one Israeli wounded by stone-throwing. The stone-throwers were also said to have hurled firebombs at passing cars and poured oil on the road.

Israeli soldiers responded and opened fire on what they believed to be suspects, the army said, killing 15-year-old Mahmoud Rafat Badran and wounding the four others. Two people were arrested, the military said.

The Israeli army initially released a statement saying that troops shot two people “after a number of Palestinians hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at moving vehicles near the village of Beit Sira on route 443”.

“An initial review suggests that as the mob continued, nearby forces acted in order to protect the additional passing vehicles from immediate danger and fired towards the assailants,” the statement said. “Forces confirmed hits resulting in the death of one of the attackers.”

Later, the Army revised its account, saying that “from initial inquiry, it appears uninvolved bystanders were mistakenly hit during the pursuit,” a spokeswoman said.

Asked by AFP whether that included the person killed, she said yes, as well as those wounded.