A Palestinian boy was shot dead Friday by an Israeli police officer at a security barrier in the West Bank, police and medical sources in Ramallah confirmed to Deutche Presse Agentur (dpa). The boy was part of a group of Palestinians throwing stones at the police checkpoint when the police officer opened fire, dpa quoted Israeli radio as reporting. The incident occurred in a field near Beit Likiya, northwest of Ramallah. The officer responsible for the shooting has been arrested and had his weapon confiscated. Reports on the boy's age vary, with hospital records putting him at eleven years old while radio reports say he was 17. --SP 0100 Local Time 2200 GMT