The Israeli army expressed regret Saturday for killing a Palestinian woman the day before as she hung her laundry, but blamed the Palestinians for the shooting death.
Arigh Saaber al-Jabali, 19, was shot in the chest on her house balcony near a Jewish settlement outside Hebron and died later at a hospital. Her sister-in-law was also injured and remained hospitalized Friday.
"The army expresses its regrets over this incident, but emphasizes that fire from houses against Israeli military positions or against civilians puts (the houses') residents at peril," an army spokesman said in a statement.
The spokesman said soldiers posted near the Beit Hagai settlement opened machine-gun fire "in response to shots" toward them coming from another house in a Hebron neighborhood.
"The army offered medical assistance for the two injured, but the Palestinians refused it," the statement said.
Palestinian police and the victim's family have contradicted the army's account, saying the Israeli soldiers shot in the air for a celebration and had not been attacked.
The killing was one of two on Friday. Soldiers also shot dead a Palestinian man near the Erez crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip after he allegedly tried to break into the military post.
The deaths bring to 369 the number of people killed since Israeli-Palestinian clashes broke out September 28: 312 Palestinians, 43 Israeli Jews, 13 Israeli Arabs and one German -- JERUSALEM (AFP)
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