GAZA - Israeli soldiers shot dead a
Palestinian teenager on Friday, who had been taking part in
border protests, Gaza medical officials said.
More than 130 Palestinians have been killed in the
Israel-Gaza border protests which have entered their fourth
month and have drawn a lethal Israeli army response which
describes them as violent.
Thousands took part in Friday's protests, which marked 100
days since their launch, with some venturing close to the border
fence, burning tyres and throwing stones.
Israel's military said Palestinian protesters hurled
grenades, explosive devices and fire-bombs toward the Israeli
soldiers across the border fence.
It said it fired toward a Palestinian who was attempting to
infiltrate Israeli territory, but the incident appeared to be
unrelated to the death of the teenager.
The Gaza Health Ministry said the 15-year-old boy killed was
shot in the chest. It said 70 others were wounded, at least 20
by live fire, and others by tear gas.
There have been no serious Israeli casualties during the
so-called "Great March of Return" but big tracts of Israeli land
have been ravaged by fires set by incendiary kites or helium
balloons flown in from Gaza.
In retaliation, Israel on Monday announced the closure of
Gaza's main commercial border terminal, reduced the area
Palestinian fishing boats are allowed to operate off Gaza's
Mediterranean coast and blacklisted what it described as a
pro-Hamas TV channel.
Israel says Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza, has
been orchestrating the protests to distract from their
governance problems and provide cover for militants'
cross-border attacks. Hamas, which Israel and the United States
designate as a terrorist organization, denies this.
Home to 2 million Palestinians, more than half of them war
refugees and their descendants, Gaza has suffered deep poverty
with vital infrastructure collapsing under a 12-year blockade by
Israel, which says its aim is to curb security threats by Hamas.
Egypt keeps tight restrictions on its border crossing with
Gaza.
The protest organisers say the demonstrations aim to press
demands such as for a right to lands lost to Israel in the 1948
war of its foundation and for an Israeli-Egyptian blockade to
ease.