An Israeli soldier fired a machine gun that killed a 4-year-old Palestinian boy on Friday and wounded two young girls while all three were in a family truck at a military checkpoint on the edge of a West Bank village, the military and Palestinian witnesses said.
The Israeli army called the shooting an accident and expressed regret, while angry residents in the Palestinian village of Bartaa threw stones at the soldiers afterward.
The killing marked the third time in the last four days that the Israeli security forces have fatally shot unarmed Arabs at or near checkpoints.
The shooting occurred as the Kabaha family was returning to their home in Bartaa and their Mitsubishi truck was waiting in line at an Israeli checkpoint at the entrance to the village, in the northern West Bank, said Ali Kabaha, an uncle of the slain boy.
As two soldiers approached the truck on foot, a soldier atop a nearby armored personnel carrier unleashed a burst of machine-gun fire, Palestinian witnesses said.
Mahmoud Kabaha, 4, was hit in the head and killed instantly. A sister and another female relative, both about 8 years old, were wounded, Ali Kabaha said.
The soldiers provided treatment to the two injured girls and took them to an Israeli hospital, the military said.
The other family members in the truck, including the dead boy's grandfather, his mother and several additional siblings, were not hurt.
After the incident, Palestinians counted more than a dozen bullet holes in the vehicle.
"I was so mad at the soldiers," said Ali Kabaha, who arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting. "I was screaming at them that there was no need for this checkpoint, and no need to open fire."
He said Israeli soldiers briefly beat the one who fired the machine gun "because they were so angry at him."
In a statement, the Israeli army said, "There was an accidental burst of gunfire by the force that followed an operational error."
The military "expresses sorrow for the tragic event and has opened a thorough investigation," the statement added.
Israeli checkpoints have been a source of constant friction throughout the 34 months of Mideast fighting. Israel announced on Friday that it was removing three major barriers in the West Bank that have often blocked Palestinian movement.
Palestinian officials say that Israel has more than 170 checkpoints in the West Bank. These obstacles not only prevent Palestinians from entering Israel, they often bar them from going from one Palestinian town to another.
Israel says it needs the security checks to prevent Palestinian attacks.
Pakistani police yesterday said a father shot dead his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account. In the Muslim-majority country, women can be subjected to violence by family members for not following strict rules on how to behave in public, including in online spaces. “The girl’s father had asked her to delete her TikTok account. On refusal, he killed her,” a police spokesperson said. Investigators said the father killed his 16-year-old daughter on Tuesday “for honor,” the police report said. The man was subsequently arrested. The girl’s family initially tried to “portray the murder as a suicide” said police in
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The Russian minister of foreign affairs warned the US, South Korea and Japan against forming a security partnership targeting North Korea as he visited the ally country for talks on further solidifying their booming military and other cooperation. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday in Wonsan City, North Korea, where he met North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and conveyed greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim during the meeting reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “unconditionally support and encourage all measures” taken by Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow share identical views on “all strategic issues in
‘FALSE NARRATIVE’: China and the Solomon Islands inked a secretive security pact in 2022, which is believed to be a prelude to building a Chinese base, which Beijing denied The Australian government yesterday said it expects China to spy on major military drills it is conducting with the US and other allies. It also renewed a charge — denounced by Beijing as a “false narrative” — that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific. The comments by a government minister came as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties. More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercises from yesterday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. “The Chinese military have
RSS