Israel is disputing a Palestinian teenager’s account of being shot in the head, an incident which his family claim led his cousin, protest ‘icon’ Ahed Tamimi, to slap Israeli soldiers.

Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai says 15-year-old Mohammed Tamimi’s account is part of the family’s “culture of lies.”

The Tamimis, said Mohammed was shot Dec. 15 by a soldier, and that surgeons removed parts of his skull to extract a rubber-coated steel pellet.

Mohammed, who was seized from his home Monday, told Israeli interrogators he injured his head in a bike accident. His father says the frightened boy lied to avoid charges of involvement in stone-throwing.

(AP)