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White House 'Concerned' About Reported Death of US Citizen in West Bank

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
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White House 'Concerned' About Reported Death of US Citizen in West Bank

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)

The White House said Friday 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, the Palestinian news agency Wafa and relatives of the young man said.

The dead man had a US passport, according to his father and a local official in the area, Hassan Zeben.

"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 Israeli 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, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

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UN Rights Chief Turk Demands Action Against Mass Killings in Syria

A funeral was held in Syria's Idlib province on Saturday to mourn four security members killed in clashes with loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad, as a war monitor group said the death toll from two days of clashes and revenge killings had risen to more than 1,000. (AP video shot by Omar Albam)
A funeral was held in Syria's Idlib province on Saturday to mourn four security members killed in clashes with loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad, as a war monitor group said the death toll from two days of clashes and revenge killings had risen to more than 1,000. (AP video shot by Omar Albam)
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UN Rights Chief Turk Demands Action Against Mass Killings in Syria

A funeral was held in Syria's Idlib province on Saturday to mourn four security members killed in clashes with loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad, as a war monitor group said the death toll from two days of clashes and revenge killings had risen to more than 1,000. (AP video shot by Omar Albam)
A funeral was held in Syria's Idlib province on Saturday to mourn four security members killed in clashes with loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad, as a war monitor group said the death toll from two days of clashes and revenge killings had risen to more than 1,000. (AP video shot by Omar Albam)

The UN human rights chief called on Syria's interim leadership on Sunday to intervene to prevent reported mass killings in coastal areas and bring the perpetrators to account.

"The caretaker authorities' announcements of their intention to respect the law must be followed by swift actions to protect Syrians, including by taking all necessary measures to prevent any violations and abuses and achieve accountability when these occur," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Germany also described as "shocking" reports that more than 1,000 people have been killed in coastal Syria in the worst clashes since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.

"The transitional government has a responsibility to prevent further attacks, to investigate the incidents and to hold those responsible to account," the German foreign ministry said in a statement.

"We strongly urge all sides to end the violence."