Palestinian university student shot dead by Israeli soldier in Hebron

A Palestinian teenager has been shot dead by an Israeli soldier at a West Bank checkpoint.

The girl, believed to be 18-year-old university student Hadeek al-Hashlamon, was photographed in the dramatic moments leading up to the confrontation in the city of Hebron.

It is alleged Ms al-Hashlamon attempted to stab the soldier at around 8.30am on Tuesday, as tensions continued to simmer ahead of major Muslim and Jewish religious holidays.

"The attacker attempted to stab a soldier," an Israeli army spokeswoman told Al Jazeera, explaining the unidentified soldier – who was not injured – then opened fire.

An IDF spokesperson for the unit told the Jerusalem Post the woman had received medical care from nearby forces.

However, contradictory videos have emerged – neither of which can be independently verified – one which appears to show the student lying unattended on the ground before being dragged off camera.

Another video, from Shehab News Agency, shows three soldiers briefly checking a woman’s pulse before standing up.

Following the incident, Ms al-Hashlamon was transferred to a nearby Israeli hospital, where she died from her wounds. It has been reported she was shot a number of times, with bullets hitting her “lower extremities” as well as her chest, according to the Israeli army spokesperson.

“The young Palestinian woman who arrived this morning to the hospital's headquarters in Jerusalem, suffering from a very serious injury, died from her wounds this afternoon," the hospital said in a statement.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) called on international authorities for an independent investigation into Ms al-Hashlamon’s death. more