A Palestinian teenager was knocked down and killed by an Israeli military jeep during overnight clashes in a village in the southern West Bank, Palestinian police and witnesses said Tuesday.
The youth, 19-year-old Moataz Sharawna, died after being hit by the vehicle after several hours of clashes between stone throwers and troops which began at midnight in Dura, southwest of the city of Hebron, a police spokesman told AFP.
An Israel military spokeswoman confirmed an incident in the village, but said initial reports suggested soldiers had fired at a youth who had climbed onto a military vehicle.
"Overnight there was an activity in Dura village near Hebron and a group of Palestinians began hurling rocks at the security forces who were in the area," she told AFP, saying several people had begun climbing onto one of the army vehicles.
"(The soldiers) warned the suspects and used riot dispersal means, and finally they responded with fire towards one of the suspects who was on the vehicle," she said, without giving further details or confirming that anyone had been hit in the incident.
Medics at Hebron's Alia hospital confirmed to AFP that the victim had died after being run over but said there was no immediate evidence of gunshot wounds on his body.
Witnesses told local news agency Ma'an that Israeli troops deterred the Red Crescent paramedics when they tried to reach and escort Sharawnah to the hospital, the agency reported.
Sharawna was a student at the Palestinian Authority Military Academy in Jericho, Ma'an said.
