Reply #8: There are some conflicting news reports regarding what took place here

[oberliner]

These excerpts are from Ha'aretz.

From the Israeli settler:

The 30-year-old paratroops commando reservist says he was walking from his home to the yeshiva where he studies on a Ramallah-area road that links only Jewish settlements. There, he encountered a group of Palestinians, who were taking part in a demonstration against the violence in the Gaza Strip.

The man says members of the group, some of whom were masked, began throwing stones at him, and that he believed he was in danger of being lynched. He drew his weapon and shot - first into the air, and when the stone-throwing didn't stop, at the assailants' feet. He says the 18-year-old resident of nearby Mizra al-Kabliya was struck and killed by a ricochet.

From a Palestinian resident of the village:

However, the Palestinian version of events varies greatly. A 17-year-old resident of the village told Haaretz that the demonstrators happened to pass a bus between the settlements of Talmon A and Talmon B, and that people threw stones at it.

"The settler got off that bus and fired many shots, one of which wounded Mohammed Shreitah. He fired at least 10 shots, if not more. We didn't see which way he ran off. We grabbed the injured man and hurried to the village," the teen said.

From the Israeli police:

The police detectives emphasized that unlike the Israel Defense Forces, they have not closed the case and have asked their Palestinian counterparts for the body or for a pathology report that indicates the circumstances of the death. The Palestinians have refused to provide such evidence.

"The Palestinians have only agreed to say that they have a body and that it has entry and exit bullet wounds, but that no bullet was found," a police source said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/960414.html

More varying accounts of the events can be found in this Ynet article:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3514152,00.html