JERUSALEM, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli soldier was killed by "friendly fire" in the occupied West Bank when another soldier mistakenly identified him as a Palestinian attacker, the Israeli military said on Tuesday.
Natan Fitoussi, 20, was hit by two bullets fired by another soldier near the Palestinian town of Tulkarm on Monday night, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Fitousshi was fatally wounded and later pronounced dead at a hospital, it said.
The Israeli military first said in a statement that Fitoussi was hit in a shooting attack, but it revised the narrative on Tuesday morning by issuing a new statement saying that he was in fact hit by "friendly fire."
The military police of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have opened an investigation into the incident, the statement said.
Ran Kochav, an Israeli military spokesman, told the Army Radio that the shooting came after Fitoussi briefly left his post, adding that the shooter followed the opening fire protocol. ■
