THE White House said yesterday it was “seriously concerned” about reports that a Palestinian teenager with US citizenship had been killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank.

Seventeen-year-old Tawfiq Ajaq was killed in Al-Mazraa Al-Sharqiya, east of Ramallah, Palestinian news agency Wafa and relatives of the young man said.

The dead boy had a US passport, his father and a local official in the area, Hassan Zeben, said.

“We’re seriously concerned about these reports. The information is scant at this time; we don’t have perfect context about exactly what happened,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

Asked to respond, an Israel army spokesman told AFP: “We are checking this event and will get back with a comment.”

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its troops regularly carry out incursions into Palestinian communities.

The raids have escalated since the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began on October 7, increasingly lasting days and accompanied by air strikes.

Since then, Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 360 people in the West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. – AFP, January 20, 2024.