A six-year old Palestinian boy from a village near Kalkilyeh, near the city of Kfar Saba, was discovered to have fabricated a story that he was shot by Jews.

Yousef Bayan al-Tabib, a resident of the village of Azbat at-Tabib, was shot in the stomach on Saturday. Initial reports by Palestinian media claimed he had been playing by the side of the road with his older brother when he was shot.

The brother reported that a car stopped, a Jewish settler got out of the car and shot the young boy, driving away immediately. His father is the head of the regional council. The boy was taken to a hospital in Kalkilyah, and Maan News reported his condition as stable but critical, adding that he is on life-support.

The Israel Defense Forces investigated the incident, concluding the story was fabricated to protect the boy’s older brother, a Palestinian police officer and the owner of the gun that was established to be the weapon used in the incident. He has been detained for questioning.

In addition, it is believed the story was going to be used to get a stipend from the Palestinian Authority.

Saturday’s shooting fabrication comes at a time when violence in Israel is exploding. On Saturday evening, two Israelis were killed in a stabbing attack that left three others, including a two year old toddler, injured. On Thursday, a young couple was shot and killed in their car near the town of Itamar, while their four small children were uninjured. Fatah claimed responsibility for that attack.