Israeli Military Admits to Shooting 16-year-old Palestinian girl, Claims It Was An Accident
Jana Zakarneh, a 16-year-old Palestinian girl, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers on Sunday night during a raid in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military revealed Monday that its troops had fired the fatal shots, stating the child had been killed by "unintentional" Israeli fire "aimed at armed gunmen."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement, "Following an initial inquiry, it was determined that the girl who was killed was hit by unintentional fire aimed at armed gunmen on a roof in the area from which the force was fired upon".
The statement continued, "The IDF and its commanders regret any harm to uninvolved civilians, including those who are in a combat environment and in close proximity to armed terrorists during exchanges of fire."
During an interview with CNN on Monday, Jana's uncle Majed Zakarneh said, "My niece was shot with four bullets, two to her face, one to her neck, and one to her shoulder."
Israeli forces were "heavily shooting everywhere. Jana was inside the house with her family, and when she heard people screaming she went to the rooftop to see what is happening, " Zakarneh reported that Jana climbed to the roof.
The soldiers had been gone from the neighbourhood for only twenty minutes when her father went in search of her. She was bleeding from the mouth and nose when he found her, Zakarneh claimed.
Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz expressed "sorrow for her death, as for any death of someone who was not involved in terrorism, if that was indeed the case" just before the IDF took responsibility.
According to WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, three more Palestinians were arrested, and two more were injured during the raid. The Israeli Defense Forces said they had detained three people "suspected of terror involvement."
After Jana was killed on Monday, a general strike was proclaimed in Jenin, and "hundreds of Palestinians" reportedly took to the streets to protest "ongoing Israeli assault," according to WAFA.
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh of the Palestinian Authority stated on Monday asking the United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, "to examine the crimes of the occupation and place Israel on the blacklist." Gamba has now arrived in the West Bank and Gaza for a visit.
"The murder of the child Jana Majdi Zakarneh adds to the horrific murders of children that the occupation soldiers continue to commit," Shtayyeh remarked.
With Zakarneh's death, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that 166 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank this year, the highest number in almost a decade of records keeping. Israel claims the majority of those slain were militants or those who clashed with soldiers. Yet human rights organisations claim that innocent bystanders have also been murdered.
This year, 31 Israelis have been slain by Palestinian terrorists, the highest in over 20 years.