Wire Services Blame Israel in Disputed Incident

Wire stories yesterday from the Agence France Presse and Associated Press blame Israel for killing a 20-year-old Palestinian in an incident which is now under dispute. The AP story is reprinted in the Los Angeles Times today.

The AFP story, entitled “Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in West Bank,” reports without challenge questionable Palestinian claims:

A Palestinian died on Tuesday after being fatally wounded by Israeli fire outside the flashpoint southern West Bank city of Hebron, Palestinian medics said.

Walid Khamaisah, 19, had been shot in the stomach by soldiers in the village of Tafuh, west of Hebron, doctors at the city’s Al-Ahli hospital said.

In an article by Lara Sukhtian, the AP reported yesterday:

Also Tuesday, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager in a clash near the West Bank town of Hebron, Palestinian hospital officials said. They said the teen was shot in the chest by troops in the village of Tafuh.

The army said troops in the village were attacked by a crowd of about 500 people hurling stones and concrete blocks, and a soldier was slightly injured. Troops fired rubber bullets at the attackers, one of whom was seen being taken away in a Palestinian ambulance, the military said.

Yet, Ha’aretz notes today that the death is under dispute (“Hebron Youth Killed in Disputed Incident.”) The article states: “The army said he might have been a casualty of an inter-clan argument and that the incident would be investigated.”

Finally, an IDF spokesman confirmed for CAMERA that the IDF Central Command learned from the Palestinian Liaison Office in the Hebron area that two Palestinians clans were fighting in the area, which was responsible for Walid Khamaisah’s death.

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