Israeli special forces kill Palestinian girl

BETHLEHEM - Undercover Israeli special forces shot dead four Palestinians, including a 10-year-old girl, in Bethlehem yesterday.

Palestinian medics and witnesses said plainclothes Israelis killed the three men in an ambush on their car and then fired at a vehicle behind it, killing the girl.

An Israeli military source admitted the girl was killed by shots mistakenly fired at the second car.

Israel radio said the first car contained fugitive members of the Islamic militant group Hamas, which has been spearheading a 2 1/2-year-old Palestinian uprising against Israel for independence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It said the Israeli forces shot at the second car because they believed they were about to be fired on.

The dead girl was identified as Christine Shehadeh. Her parents and a 15-year-old sister in the car with her were wounded.

Israeli troops have reoccupied much of the West Bank and conducted many raids, sometimes undercover, to capture suspected militants.

On Tuesday, soldiers shot dead a 14-year-old Palestinian boy during clashes with stone-throwers in Jenin. Until that incident, violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had eased.

- REUTERS