Palestinian girl martyred by Israel's stray bullet

JENIN/GAZA, Palestine

A Palestinian girl on Friday succumbed to her wounds she sustained when she was shot by the Israeli army at her home in Jenin city, north of West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that Dalia Assamoudi, 23, from Jenin "was martyred as a result of being shot by the Israeli army."

In an earlier statement, the ministry said Assamoudi was in critical condition after undergoing a surgery.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that she was wounded by random gunfire while she was at her home.

Hundreds of Palestinians have bid farewell to Assamoudi late Friday.

The girl was buried in a cemetery in the Jenin refugee camp after the body was transferred from Khalil Sulaiman Hospital in the city.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad movement slammed the incident that martyred Assamoudi.

“The martyrdom of Assamoudi by the occupying forces is a new crime committed by the Zionists. It is an act of terrorism in its ugliest form,” Hamas spokesman Hazim Qasim said in a written statement.

Martyrdom of the Palestinian woman is a “crime against humanity”, said a statement by Hidir Adnan, one of the leading names of the Islamic Jihad movement.

On Friday morning, an Israeli force broke into Jenin and fired live bullets against Palestinian protesters, with clashes erupting.

The Israeli army has yet to comment on the incident.

The Israeli army usually storms Palestinian towns to arrest Palestinians "wanted" by Israeli security services, and clashes with them.

International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activities on the land to be illegal.

* Ahmed Asmar and Zehra Nur Duz contributed to this report from Ankara