Palestinian boy with toy gun wounded by Israeli troops

- Steven Erlanger, New York Times
Friday, November 4, 2005


Jerusalem -- A Palestinian boy carrying a toy gun was shot and seriously wounded by Israeli troops Thursday during clashes in the northern West Bank town of Jenin.

The boy, Ahmed el-Khatib, 12 years old, was taken to an Israeli hospital with serious head wounds and brain damage.

Groups of young men were throwing stones at Israeli soldiers who were trying to arrest a local leader of the militant group Islamic Jihad, Hossam Jaradat, 35, who was wounded in the leg. According to the Israeli army, gunshots were also fired at the soldiers.

Soldiers saw what they thought was an armed gunman standing about 130 yards away from them and opened fire, hitting the target, which turned out to be the boy. He was evacuated by the Palestinian Red Crescent, and when the Israeli soldiers "approached the spot, they found the weapon which the Palestinian was holding and discovered it to be a plastic gun," according to an Israeli army statement, which also expressed regret for the wounding.

The Israeli commander in the West Bank ordered an investigation into the shooting.

The operation in Jenin, involving more than 30 army jeeps and two helicopters, was one of a continuing series of Israeli actions to arrest active members of Islamic Jihad and Hamas after a series of terrorist attacks, including a suicide bombing and rocket and mortar attacks toward Israel from Gaza.

An Israeli soldier was lightly wounded Thursday by a mortar shell fired from Gaza, the military said.

The Israeli actions have strained the stated commitment of Hamas to observe a cease-fire with Israel. Hamas candidates are running in Palestinian legislative elections, scheduled for Jan. 25, and the group has vowed to keep the cease-fire through then. But it has also said that it retains the right to respond to Israeli violations of the cease-fire.

Israel says that it is only defending itself against continuing efforts by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to carry out terrorism against Israel.

Also Thursday, Israel arrested a teenage settler alleged to have punched a deputy brigade commander in the eye a week ago as the Israeli military was evacuating an illegal settlement outpost near Elon Moreh in the West Bank. The teenager, 17, is charged with punching Lt. Col. Benny Shick, who was hospitalized for treatment.

It was the latest example of the so-called "hilltop youth" -- aggressive young settlers -- confronting the army, slashing the tires of its jeeps or burning them, tearing soldiers' uniforms and even assaulting them when the soldiers attempt to dismantle illegal outposts.