Palestinian girl, 13, shot in leg after incident with Israeli border guards

ALFEI MENASHE, Israel, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- A 13-year-old Palestinian girl was injured after being shot on Wednesday during an incident with border guards at the Eliyahu Israeli checkpoint near the West Bank settlement of Alfei Menashe.

Israeli officials said the girl was shot after refusing to stop when commanded by border guards. Israel's Ministry of Defense said the girl approached the checkpoint with a bag and civilian checkpoint guards ordered her to stop. The guards fired a warning shot into the air and the girl then began reaching toward her shirt, to which a guard responded by shooting her in the leg to stop her, the defense ministry said.

No explosives or weapons were found in the girl's bag. She is undergoing treatment at the Meir Hospital in Kfar Sava, Haaretz reports. The Defense Ministry said she responded "I came to die" during her initial questioning.

Palestine News Network reported that eyewitnesses said the girl was on her way to school while carrying only her bag. The Palestine News Network reports Israeli media first said she was shot during a stabbing attempt and that Israeli military sealed off the scene of the incident.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned of a possible increase in violence for the upcoming Jewish High Holy Days in early October.

"The security forces are on heightened alert and I will meet with them today in order to ensure that we will be ready to defend our people during this sensitive period," Netanyahu said.