A Palestinian throws a chair at burning tires during clashes with Israeli forces following a raid, in Jenin in the West Bank April 9, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/File Photo

i24 News – The findings from an initial Israeli army investigation into the death of a 16-year-old girl in Jenin on Monday were released prematurely, a Border Police source tells i24NEWS.

The source expressed anger about the report, saying that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) should have waited for more concrete evidence before stating that Jana Zakharna was “likely” hit in the head by sniper fire “accidentally” while on the roof of her home.

According to the Border Police source, the experienced sniper saw only one armed individual on the roof of the building and did not see anyone else around him during an exchange of gunfire with Palestinian militants following a raid in the West Bank city.

Israeli media also quoted senior officers at the Border Police as saying that the report “is hasty and lacks evidence.”

Meanwhile, the United States called for accountability after the incident.

“It is a tragic incident. It is a heartbreaking incident any time you hear of a civilian killed in these types of operations,” US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said. “We understand the IDF is undertaking an investigation. We hope to see accountability in this case.”

Price put the alleged shooting in the context of an overall trend of increasing violence in the West Bank, saying that they have “noted and lamented for some time now this alarming increase in Palestinian and Israeli deaths and injuries, including numerous children and now the death of a young Palestinian teenager.”