RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Israeli forces shot and killed a 15-year-old Palestinian girl during a pre-dawn raid in the West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Monday, drawing condemnation from the United Nations and rights groups. It marked the latest bloodshed in the biggest spasm of violence in the occupied territory in years.
The circumstances surrounding the death of the teenage girl in the city of Beitunia in the central West Bank, identified by Palestinian health officials as Fulla al-Masalmeh, were not fully clear. The Israeli military said soldiers opened fire on a vehicle that was accelerating toward them after they signaled for it to stop. The military said it was investigating, and declined to comment further.
But a witness claimed the girl's car posed no apparent danger to the Israeli troops, some of whom were crouched behind a line of parked cars and could not have been easily visible to an approaching driver.
Palestinian assailants have carried out dozens of attempted stabbings and car rammings in recent years. But Palestinians and human rights groups say that Israeli troops often use excessive force, and in some cases, have shot people who did not pose a threat — without being held accountable. The military says it contends with complex, life-threatening scenarios.
The top U.N. Mideast envoy, Tor Wennesland, wrote on Twitter that he was “appalled by the tragic killing” and urged Israel to conduct an “immediate and thorough investigation."
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, a watchdog, said al-Masalmeh's killing “reflects a serious disregard for Palestinian lives.”
From Beitunia, Bakr Armoush, a 35-year-old resident, said Israeli troops had burst into the town and arrested his neighbor around 3:30 a.m. From his window, he watched some 20 soldiers searching the parked cars in front of his building. Then a car approached from a substantial distance away. It was moving carefully, he said, estimating some 20-30 kilometers per hour (12-18 miles per hour).
“I didn't see them do anything suspicious,” he said.
قال إنه فجأة ، فتحت مجموعة من الجنود الإسرائيليين المتمركزين خلف سيارات متوقفة النار على السيارة دون سابق إنذار. واشتركت بقية القوات ورشوا السيارة بالرصاص. قال إنه بعد سيل إطلاق النار ، خرج سائق من السيارة على شكل ترنح ونزيف ورفع يديه فوق رأسه. رأى فتاة متدلية في مقعد الراكب.
قال مسؤول عسكري إسرائيلي ، طلب عدم الكشف عن هويته بسبب التحقيق في الحادث ، إن السيارة كانت تتقدم بحركة غير منتظمة ومتعرجة وكانت تتسارع وتفرمل بشكل متكرر