US concerned about Israeli killing of Palestinian-American teen

The Obama administration has expressed concern over the killing of a Palestinian-American teenager by Israeli occupation forces earlier this year, and the decision by Israeli authorities not to open a criminal investigation into the incident.

Mahmoud Shalan, 16-years-old and born in Florida, was shot dead on 26 February in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers who claimed he had tried to stab them.

As reported by AP: “Several groups took issue with that account and complained that the soldiers had used excessive force and denied Shalan medical treatment after he was shot.” Subsequently, the US Embassy in Tel Aviv “asked Israeli authorities to conduct an investigation into the matter.”

In a letter to campaign groups, Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, Anne Patterson, said the US was later informed that the Israeli Military Advocate General “did not find that the soldiers’ actions gave rise to reasonable grounds for suspicion of criminal conduct.”

The advocate general then ordered the case closed “without opening a criminal investigation or ordering further action against those involved in the incident,” according to Patterson.

Patterson said that US officials, having been allowed to review the evidence compiled by the Israelis, including photographs of the scene, “continue to have concerns about the death of this American citizen and will remain engaged with the government of Israel on this issue.”