Israeli troops kill Palestinian bystander after Israeli cars attacked

The Israeli army, hours after the shooting, have officially admitted to have mistakenly shot and killed bystander Mahmoud Badran (15), and that he had nothing to do with attacks on Israeli settler vehicles.

Mr Ahmad said the victim was just 14 years old, though reports from other officials allege that he was 20.

Three Israelis were lightly injured in the incident near the Beit Ur al-Tahta village, near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The wall, which Israel began building more than a decade ago to thwart the suicide bombers of the second intifada, is supposed to prevent Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank from entering into Israel outside military checkpoints where their papers can be examined.

Palestinian attacks during the same period have killed 32 Israelis and two visiting U.S. citizens.

Local Palestinian sources told Ma’an that five teenage Palestinians were travelling in a auto between Beit Ur al-Tahta and the nearby village of Beit Sira west of Ramallah when Israeli forces “showered” the vehicle with live fire, killing one and injuring four.

Qasim said the vehicle was not on the main highway used by Israeli motorists, and he could not understand why it had been shot.

The Palestine Liberation Organization released a statement calling the incident a “brutal attack”.

The military said several Palestinians threw petrol bombs and stones at vehicles, injuring three civilians, on Highway 443 between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem that traverses the West Bank for several kilometres.

The stone-throwers were also said to have hurled firebombs at passing cars and poured oil on the road.

The incident preceded a wave of Palestinian unrest that began in October and which has included knife, gun and car-ramming attacks. At the moment I am aware of one other attacker that was wounded and treated by medical forces and later evacuated to hospital.

An army spokeswoman said the Palestinian carried out the March 8 seafront knife attacks which killed 29-year-old Texan Taylor Allen Force and wounded at least 10 Israelis as US Vice President Joe Biden arrived for a visit.

Angry statement The Palestinian foreign ministry issued an angry statement and called on human rights organisations to investigate.