RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Israeli military shot dead a 17-year-old Palestinian near the West Bank separation barrier on Tuesday, Palestinians said. The Israeli military said he had breached the barrier, which separated soldiers from protesters.
A classmate said a group of students threw rocks at soldiers near the barrier, a line of walls, trenches and fences Israel has built along and inside the West Bank. Muataz Awad said soldiers opened fire, killing Samir Awad from the village of Boudrous.
The military confirmed opening fire at protesters, saying some had cut through a section of the barrier fence. Military spokesman Capt. Eytan Buchman said troops “initiated standard rules of engagement, which included live fire.” An investigation into the shooting has been ordered, and Buchman said he could not comment further on the open-fire order.
Also Tuesday, about 50 armed Palestinians shut the main road leading into the Balata refugee camp with burning tires to protest repeated attempts by Palestinian security forces to disarm them.
The gunmen have links to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, and their recent protests have drawn attention to growing discontent with Abbas’ rule. Abbas governs the West Bank, while Hamas militants have a rival government in the Gaza Strip.
