A 16-year-old Palestinian has been shot dead by Israeli forces after he allegedly tried to stab a private security guard at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, Israeli authorities said.
The Palestinian health Ministry confirmed that Mohammed Zakarna was killed on Saturday at the Jalameh checkpoint in northern Jenin. No other injuries were reported.
Witnesses speaking to Al Jazeera gave conflicting reports about the incident. One person confirmed the Israeli narrative, saying he saw Zakarna running towards the Israelis with a knife when they heavily shot him. Another one, however, said the boy worked as a sweets peddle seller on the Palestinian side of the checkpoint when he was killed.
A Red Crescent employee said that the Israeli Army prevented an ambulance from getting to the site. The employee added that Zakarna was taken to the Israeli part of the checkpoint until an Israeli ambulance took him away.
Kerry meets Abbas
Against the backdrop of violence, US Secretary of State John Kerry flew to
Jordan on Saturday for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II on the latest Israeli-Palestinian tension. Speaking after Kerry’s meeting, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the two men “had a very in-depth and constructive meeting.
“President Abbas demanded the US administration’s support for efforts to request protection for the Palestinian people at the United Nations,” Erekat, the PlO secretary-general, said. “We also requested sending an international investigation commission from the United Nations Human Rights Council to deal with summary executions against our people.”