A Palestinian Authority Arab woman was shot on Friday morning after aiming a toy gun near soldiers at an IDF checkpoint. The incident took place at a checkpoint east of Shechem.
IDF sources said Friday the woman had intended to be wounded or killed, and was motivated by a desire to escape her home, where she was abused by her family.
Soldiers noticed a suspicious object in the woman's hand and called on her to stop, then fired in the air. When the woman failed to stop, soldiers fired at her lower body, hitting her. Only after the incident did it become clear that the gun she held was not real.
The woman was moderately wounded in the incident. She was taken to an Israeli hospital for treatment.
The injured woman's name has not been made public. According to IDF officials, she is 18 years old.
Earlier in the week IDF authorities announced that the army would no longer require PA Arabs on foot to undergo security checks before passing through the Huwara checkpoint south of Shechem. The checkpoint is one of the largest in Judea and Samaria, and thousands of PA Arabs pass through each day.
Those passing through the checkpoint by car will still be required to undergo security checks. The checkpoint will remain in place, allowing soldiers to renew checks in case of a planned terrorist attack in the area.