Palestinian sources said they had arrested a suspect on Thursday in the stabbing of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy Wednesday night in the West Bank village of Karyut. The sources confirmed that the suspect was a member of a rival clan, Israel Radio reported.

Earlier, Palestinian sources had reported that the boy was killed in a brawl that erupted between Palestinian youths and Israeli settlers who had entered the village from the nearby settlement of Shiloh.

However, Palestinian officials soon admitted to IDF officers that the incident was related to an inter-clan dispute.

Palestinian hospital workers identified the dead boy as Yazan Mohammed Mussa, 12, and said he died while being treated for 11 stab wounds.

The incident occurred at around six in the evening, but it took more then three hours before the Palestinians notified Israeli security officials.

Israeli police immediately opened an investigation, and said that the possibility of an inter-Palestinian feud was one of the options being investigated.

A youth who was with Mussa at the time of the incident said the victim was attacked by two strangers.

Although he was sure they were not from their home village of Karir, adjacent to Shiloh, he fled before hearing what language they spoke and therefore could not positively identify them as Israelis.

...Late on Wednesday, Reuters reported that a Palestinian boy had been stabbed to death by Israelis in the West Bank, citing reports from unidentified Palestinians.

The boy was taken to Rafidiah Hospital in Nablus, and Dr. Musa Alayan, who examined the body, said he had found 14 stab wounds to the head, chest and abdomen, but initial reports were sketchy.

The boy, identified as Yazan Musa, 12 or 13, was playing with a friend near Qaryout on Wednesday when he was stabbed by Jewish settlers who had marched in the area, Reuters and Israeli radio reported.

The Israeli police had received a report from the Palestinian authorities that the boy had been killed and had begun an investigation, said a spokesman, Shlomi Sagi. He said he could not immediately confirm any circumstances of the killing...

...Before I wrote a word, the boy's death was being reported by Israel's two leading television networks and the two main radio stations, and three leading Israeli newspapers already had stories on their web sites. All three wire services - AP, Reuters, and AFP - also had stories on the wire. Every one of these reports emphasized the Palestinian claim that Israelis were responsible.

I cite this not to absolve myself of responsibility for my reporting, but to note that this was the only information that was available Wednesday night, and it proved not to be accurate as additional information became available Thursday morning...

...We noted this in the story and stressed that the initial reports were sketchy. I wish we had cast even more skepticism on the Palestinian claim.

As soon as we had additional information on Thursday morning, we updated the story on the Times' web site to note that a Palestinian had been arrested in the case and that the Israeli police had found no evidence to support the Palestinian claim. This is also set to appear in the print edition on Friday...