Palestinian killed in clash with Israel army

Inshirah, the mother of Moataz Sharawna, holds up his photo (youth in red and black top) prior to his funeral in the West Bank village of Dura yesterday.

AFP/Ramallah

A Palestinian teenager was knocked down and killed by an Israeli military jeep during overnight clashes in a town in the southern West Bank, Palestinian police and witnesses said yesterday.

The youth, 19-year-old Moataz Sharawna, died after being hit by the vehicle after several hours of clashes between stone throwers and troops which began at midnight in Dura, which lies just southwest of the city of Hebron, a police spokesman said.

An Israel military spokeswoman confirmed an incident in the town, but said initial reports suggested soldiers had fired at a youth who had climbed onto a military vehicle.

“Overnight there was an activity in Dura village near Hebron and a group of Palestinians began hurling rocks at the security forces who were in the area,” she told AFP, saying several people had begun climbing onto one of the army vehicles.

“(The soldiers) warned the suspects and used riot dispersal means, and finally they responded with fire towards one of the suspects who was on the vehicle,” she said, without giving further details or confirming that anyone had been hit in the incident.

Medics at Hebron’s Alia hospital confirmed that the victim had died after being run over but said there was no immediate evidence of gunshot wounds on his body.