Shot Palestinian dies of injuries

2012-04-02 12:04

Ranallah - A Palestinian who was shot and injured by Israeli troops last week during a confrontation in a West Bank village, on Monday died of his injuries, medical sources on both sides said.

Rashad Deeb was shot and injured along with his two brothers in the early hours of March 27 during an incident in Rammun village, 10km northeast of Ramallah.

A soldier was also lightly injured during the incident.

Deeb was taken to Shaarei Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem but died of his injuries early on Monday, Israeli and Palestinian medical sources said.

"He arrived in critical condition and was operated on, but he died at 04:00 this morning," a spokesperson for the hospital said.

Investigation

A Palestinian ambulance official said he had been contacted by the hospital to retrieve the body and was awaiting permission to enter Israel.

The incident occurred when the three brothers had heard someone moving around outside their home during the night and had gone out to confront them, believing they were thieves, witnesses and Palestinian security sources said.

But the "thieves" turned out to be Israeli soldiers working undercover, who were dressed to look like Palestinians and opened fire after one of the Palestinians attacked them with a knife, they said.

The Israeli military merely said one of its soldiers had been attacked by a knife-wielding Palestinian but did not comment on whether the troops were under cover. A spokesperson said the circumstances of the incident were under investigation.

- AFP