A Palestinian-American teenager, who grew up in Gretna, La., was reportedly killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, on Jan. 19, according to the president of a mosque called Masjid Omar, located in the greater New Orleans area of Harvey.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Newsweek via email on Saturday that a U.S. citizen civilian in the Israeli-occupied West Bank died on Friday.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the family," the State Department said. "We are working to understand the circumstances of the incident and have asked the Government of Israel for further information. Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment."
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the death, but the Israel Defense Forces told Newsweek via email that it received a report "regarding an off-duty police officer and a civilian who fired toward a Palestinian individual suspected of hurling rocks in the area of Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya."
The Israel Police have opened an investigation into the incident," the IDF added.
The teen who died was identified by the local mosque president as 17-year-old Tawfic Abdel Jabbar of Gretna.
Jabbar and his family moved to the West Bank for his senior year of high school after finishing the 11th grade last May. He had plans of returning back to the U.S. to attend college at the University of New Orleans, according to the mosque president. (Newsweek 01/20/24)
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