Israeli forces kill Palestinian accused of stone throwing

A 20-year-old Palestinian was shot dead and four other injured when Israeli forces opened fire at a group accused of throwing rocks at traffic in the occupied West Bank.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

21 June, 2016

Israeli troops opened fire on a group suspected of throwing stones at traffic [Anadolu]

A Palestinian shot dead and his four friends injured by Israeli forces may have been "uninvolved bystanders", the Israeli army admitted on Tuesday, after troops responded to reports of stones being thrown at traffic on an Israeli-only road in the occupied West Bank.

Mahmoud Badran, a 20-year-old, was killed in the troops' attack.

"From initial inquiry, it appears uninvolved bystanders were mistakenly hit during the pursuit," an army spokeswoman said.

Troops started shooting "after a number of Palestinians hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at moving vehicles near the village of Beit Sira", the Israeli military said in an earlier statement.

The spokeswoman said the circumstances were being investigated.

Violence since October 2015 has killed at least 209 Palestinians and 32 Israelis. Israeli forces have been accused of using excessive force in some cases.

Israel denies such charges, claiming the "security measures" were necessary to counter attacks. It claims that a Palestinian campaign of incitement is fanning the violence.

Palestinians say the rise in knife attacks on Israeli soldiers is rooted in frustration stemming from nearly five decades of Israeli military occupation.

Agencies contributed to this report.