IDF rebuffs Palestinian claims that Jewish settlers shot 6-year-old boy

Palestinian eyewitnesses told the local press that the boy was shot by Jewish settlers who drove by the town and opened fire with a gun, wounding him in the stomach.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: OCTOBER 3, 2015 15:47
A Palestinian youth hurls stones at Israeli troops during clashes following an Israeli army raid in Nablus (photo credit: REUTERS)
A Palestinian youth hurls stones at Israeli troops during clashes following an Israeli army raid in Nablus
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Israeli military is denying Palestinian media reports that a Jewish settler shot a six-year-old boy in the West Bank town of Kalkilya on Saturday.
Palestinian eyewitnesses told the local press that the boy was shot by Jewish settlers who drove by the town and opened fire with a gun, wounding him in the stomach. The boy was rushed to a local hospital, where he is being listed in light condition.
After conducting a preliminary investigation, the IDF concluded that the boy was shot accidentally while playing with firearms with another friend.
The incident comes against the backdrop of simmering tensions in the West Bank in the wake of Thursday's fatal shooting of a Jewish couple near the settlement of Itamar, a crime that Israeli authorities believe was committed by Palestinian terrorists.
Since the killing, a number of violent incidents have taken place involving Jews and Palestinians in the territories.
An Israeli woman and her daughter were lightly injured when assailants threw stones at their car as they were driving near Hebron. The woman continued driving and eventually escaped from view of the Palestinian rioters at the scene.
In Jerusalem, an Israeli policeman was lightly wounded after he was pelted by stones near the Lion's Gate section of the Old City. The policeman was rushed to hospital for treatment.
Earlier Friday, Israeli authorities arrested a Palestinian man, 25, from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat. The man is suspected of trying to injure a Border Police unit operating in the Old City.
Authorities say that security cameras at the scene confirm the man's involvement in stone-throwing incidents.