US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday offered his “deepest condolences” to the families of two Palestinian-American teenagers “who reportedly were killed” in the West Bank and said that there must be an investigation into their deaths.
“We’ve made clear that with regard to the incidents you’ve alluded to, there needs to be an investigation. We need to get the facts. And if appropriate, there needs to be accountability,” Blinken said at a press conference in Albania in response to a question from CNN’s Alex Marquardt.
Two 17-year-old Palestinian-Americans were reportedly killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces in less than a month. 17-year-old Mohammad Ahmed Mohammad Khdour was shot in the head by Israeli forces on Saturday while traveling by car in the town of Biddu, according to the organization “Defense for Children – Palestine.” CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces about the reported shooting. The US Office of Palestinian Affairs said in a post on X that it was “devastated by the killing.”
Last month, another American, 17-year-old Tawfic Abdel, was fatally shot in the head, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA. The IDF and Israeli police told CNN that they had opened an investigation into the incident.
A number of American citizens have also been detained by Israeli forces in recent weeks. Blinken would not give details on their cases, citing privacy laws.
“I can just say in general, without reference to specific cases, we insist that people be treated fairly, that they be treated with due process, and that they be treated humanely,” he said. “That’s something that, regardless of where an American citizen might be detained, we insist on. And we’ll continue to insist on.”
Two Americans, Hashem Alagha, 20, and…
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