Ramallah: Washington confirmed Friday that a Palestinian teenager shot dead by Israeli troops was a US citizen.
Palestinian officials named the youth as Orwa Hammad, 17, saying he was shot during a stone-throwing protest against troops, a regular occurrence at Silwan, near Ofra colony.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US “expresses its deepest condolences to the family of a US citizen minor who was killed by the Israeli Defense Forces”.
Calling for “a speedy and transparent investigation”, Psaki said officials from the US consulate in Occupied Jerusalem were in touch with the family of the slain youth.
“We continue to urge all parties to help restore calm and avoid escalating tensions in the wake of the tragic recent incidents in Jerusalem and the West Bank,” said Psaki.
Also on Friday, police in annexed east Jerusalem clashed with Palestinians, firing tear gas to disperse stone-throwing protesters.
Palestinian men under the age of 40 were not allowed into Occupied Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque compound for Friday prayers because of fears of further unrest, she said.
The compound is the scene of frequent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police.
Prayers concluded on Friday afternoon with clashes in the Wadi Joz neighbourhood north of the Old City.
Palestinians there threw stones and fired flares at police, who dispersed them and arrested three demonstrators.
An AFP correspondent said undercover police in the crowd of Palestinians made the arrests.
There were also clashes in Occupied east Jerusalem’s Issawiya neighbourhood, where AFP photographers saw police fire bursts of tear gas to break up a crowd of Palestinians who hurled rocks and burned tyres on the streets.
