The Israeli army acknowledged Monday that its troops shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian girl during a shootout with soldiers in a raid on the northern West Bank city of Jenin last Sunday.
An Israeli military statement admitted that its soldiers "unintentionally" killed the girl while returning fire on gunmen on a rooftop. He said it appeared the girl had been on the roof of one of the houses near the gunmen.
For his part, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh explained that the young woman, whom he identified as Jana Zakarneh, was killed "in cold blood" by an Israeli sniper and stated that Israel must be held accountable.
In parallel, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid expressed his sorrow for the girl's death and sent his condolences to her family. "Israel will continue to investigate the incident," he said.
CNN was able to speak with Jana Zakarneh's uncle and specified that her niece "received four bullet wounds: two in the face, one in the neck and one in the shoulder."
He also explained how the events happened. "The Israeli military was firing heavily everywhere. Jana was inside the house with her family and when she heard people screaming, she went up to the roof to see what was happening," the young woman's uncle began. .
"Twenty minutes after the soldiers left the neighborhood, her father went looking for her... He found her lying on the ground with her face covered in blood," he concluded.
The United States also mourned the death of the young woman and asked the Israelis and Palestinians to de-escalate the conflict.
"We express our deep condolences to the family of the deceased teenager. It is a tragic accident that breaks the heart, as every time a civilian dies in this type of operation," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. Press conference.
Ned Price also recalled that the tragic death of Jana Zakarneh "has occurred in the midst of an escalation of violence" in the occupied West Bank, which has resulted in "an alarming increase in Palestinian and Israeli deaths and injuries."
A total of 166 Palestinians have died in violent incidents with Israel in the West Bank this year, the deadliest in the area since 2006 according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health count - many militants, but also civilians and minors; while on the Israeli side 29 people have died, 21 of them civilians.
Israeli authorities have detained more than 3,000 Palestinian "terror suspects," thwarted more than 500 attacks and seized some 250 weapons so far this year.
Israel gained control of the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War, and has maintained a military occupation of this territory ever since.
