Arab Youth Reportedly Killed by Israeli Troops in West Bank Town

Israeli troops shot and killed an Arab youth in a demonstration Saturday in the occupied West Bank town of Janin, Israel Radio said. Protests broke out in at least four other West Bank towns.

An army spokeswoman denied that soldiers opened fire in Janin, where the death was reported. “We have had a report from the hospital that a man died, and the army is checking if there is a connection,” said the military spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The army did not see a body; the army used gas and rubber bullets only.”

Israel Radio said the Janin youth was shot in the head and his body was taken from the hospital by his family. It said the clash with soldiers erupted after masked men entered schools and brought schoolchildren out to demonstrate.

The military spokeswoman said the army imposed a curfew on Janin and on two other West Bank protest sites, the Jalazoun refugee camp and the town of Qalqiliya.