Palestinian girl shot, injured at West Bank checkpoint

By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM

A Palestinian girl was shot and injured by Israeli forces at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday morning, the Palestinian health ministry said.

While it was initially reported as an attempted attack, the Israeli Ministry of Defense said in a statement the girl, 13, was shot after she declined to comply with an order to stop approaching the at the Eliyahu checkpoint in the northern West Bank.

It claimed she was carrying a big bag and soldiers fired warning shots before she approached them.

The ministry said the Palestinian girl told soldiers during initial questioning that she wanted to die.

A photo published on social media by the Palestinian Shehab news agency appeared however to show the girl kneeling in front of the soldiers before she was shot.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces -- either during alleged attacks on Israelis or in clashes with Israeli forces -- since October of last year.

Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in the violence.

The latest spate of alleged attacks comes after a months-long wave of Israeli-Palestinian bloodletting appeared to subside in March.