By Qais Abu Samra and Zein Khalil

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA): A Palestinian teen was beaten to death early Sunday by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, according to eyewitnesses and a medical source.

Amer Snobar, 18, from the town of Yatma, south of Nablus city, was attacked by settlers guarding a Jewish settlement and died of his wounds, witnesses said.

A medical source said the teen was admitted to hospital with signs of assault on his body.

An Israeli military statement said a Palestinian fell while escaping and hit his head while being chased by army forces.

According to the army, the chase came after settlers said that their cars were attacked by stone-throwing Palestinians.

Meanwhile, according to Palestinian media, the Israeli army killed, on Sunday at dawn, a Palestinian teen who was repeatedly struck and assaulted by the soldiers, after they chased his car and opened fire at it, on the main Ramallah-Nablus road, in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian sources said the teen has been identified as Amer Abdul-Rahim Snobar, 18, from Yitma village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

They added that the soldiers fired several live rounds at the car, and then repeatedly assaulted Sobar, including hitting him with rifle-butts, inflicting serious wounds, but did not attempt to abduct him or move him to an Israeli medical center.

Palestinian medics were called to the scene and provided the seriously wounded young man with vital first aid before rushing him to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah.

Initial reports indicated that the young man was shot in his car, but eyewitnesses confirmed he was not injured by the bullets, but instead, all his wounds were inflicted by the soldiers who constantly assaulted him.

Dr. Ahmad al-Bitwati, the head of Ramallah Medical Complex in Ramallah, told Palestine TV that Snobar was not shot, but was constantly struck by the soldiers on the back neck, and his head, and confirmed that he died because of these serious wounds.

Al-Bitawi added that the Palestinian was already dead when the Palestinian ambulance arrived at the medical center.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is regarded as “occupied territory” under International law, thus making all Israeli settlements there illegal.

* Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara

Additional report from imemc.org

[Map of Israel and Palestine by Wikipedia/Creative Commons]