Palestinian boy, 12, shot dead by Israeli military

Israeli troops shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who was riding in a car with his father in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli military said one of its soldiers had opened fire towards the car's wheels after concluding that the vehicle had been involved in "suspicious activity" earlier in the day. Palestinians dispute the account. "We are looking into the claim that a Palestinian minor was killed as a result of the gunfire. The incident is being reviewed by senior commanding officers," the military said in a statement. The boy was shot in the chest, the Palestinian health ministry said following the incident in the Palestinian village of Beit Ummar, near Hebron in the southern West Bank. He died several hours after being rushed to a nearby hospital. The West Bank is among territories where Palestinians seek statehood. Israel's military police is investigating the incident, the military said. Violence has simmered there since US-sponsored talks between the Palestinians and Israel broke down in 2014.