US claims ‘aggressive’ investigation after another American teen killed in West Bank

A 17-year-old US citizen was fatally shot by Israeli forces in the West Bank on Saturday, marking the second American teenager killed in the occupied Palestinian territory within recent weeks.

Mohammad Ahmad Alkhdour was shot twice in the head near Biddu, a town northwest of Jerusalem, according to family members and Defence for Children International – Palestine.

Israeli forces reportedly opened fire on a car with Mohammad and a relative inside. The vehicle overturned while attempting to drive to safety, according to Defence for Children.

Mohammad was transported by ambulance to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, where he was pronounced dead around 11pm.

His death follows the fatal shooting of another 17-year-old US citizen, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, roughly 10 miles from Ramallah on 19 January, when an Israeli settler began firing at him and others, followed by fire from the Israeli military, according to accounts from his family and Defence for Children.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US is “aggressively” investigating both incidents.

“In these cases, when we see reports like this, or we get outreach from families, we engage with the Israeli government on it,” he told reporters at the White House on Wednesday following questions from The Independent about the US response to the killings of American children by Israeli forces.

“There are investigations pending … we’ll continue to work that aggressively,” he said. “We have made clear from the start that the United States is focused on the welfare and wellbeing of American citizens wherever they are, whether it’s in the West Bank, or Gaza, or Israel or any other country in the region or indeed in the world. That remains the commitment of