(JTA) — Israeli troops killed a 17-year-old Palestinian they said hurled stones at their army vehicle.
Hani al-Kusbah was shot to death near Ramallah on Friday morning after Palestinians threw stones and rocks at an Israeli army command car while it was driving through the Palestinian village of A-Ram en route to an nearby army base, the Ynet news site quoted the Israel Defense Forces spokesman as saying.
None of the Israelis were hurt, but their windshield was shattered from the volley of hard objects, the IDF spokesman said. Al-Kusbah was taken to a hospital in Ramallah, where he died of his injuries.
Palestinian medical sources, disputing Israel’s version of the incident, claimed that al-Kusbah was shot while trying to climb over a walled section of the security fence that Israel has built in the West Bank.
Last week, another Palestinian was killed in the Jordan Valley after firing at an IDF post. In recent weeks, the West Bank and Jerusalem have seen a spate of lethal and near-lethal attacks by Palestinians on Israelis.
IDF and Border Police officers reinforced their deployment in anticipation of violent riots around al-Kusbah’s funeral.
Separately, Palestinian Authority officers in the West Bank arrested dozens of individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity by Hamas.
