Palestinians: Israeli forces kill teenage girl in West Bank
Associated PressRAMALLAH, 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. 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 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. Israeli-Palestinian tensions have soared in recent months, with the Israeli military carrying out nightly raids in the West Bank since the spring, when a spate of attacks against Israelis killed 19 people.