Israeli forces shot and killed a teenage Palestinian protester during a clash in the West Bank late Wednesday, raising tensions already heightened by the death of a Palestinian prisoner and renewed fighting between Israel and Gaza militants.
The late night killing capped a day of rioting throughout the West Bank in protest at the prisoner's death from cancer and raised the likelihood of further unrest in the Palestinian territories Thursday.
Mohammed Ayyad, a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent, said a 17-year-old Palestinian was killed in a clash between the Israeli army and Palestinian stone-throwers at a checkpoint near the West Bank city of Tulkarem. He was hit by a bullet in the chest, Ayyad said. The spokesman did not provide the youth's name.
The Israeli military said several Palestinians hurled firebombs at a military post near Tulkarem, and soldiers at the post fired a live round at the protesters, hitting one. The army said it was reviewing the circumstances of the incident.