Palestinians Shot Dead

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The body of a Palestinian teenager who was killed by Israeli occupation troops has been recovered in the southern occupied Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis. Muhammad Nabhan, 17, was recovered from a cemetery on Monday, a day after he was killed by Israeli gunfire, Palestinian medical sources and witnesses said. Troops had opened fire on a group of Palestinian protesters who had been seen approaching a neighbouring Jewish settlement, the witnesses said. Also on Monday, 24-year-old Umar Fariq was shot dead by occupation soldiers near the separation barrier in the northern West Bank, medical and security sources said. An Israeli military source said that 10 Palestinian resistance activists were arrested overnight in the West Bank. **Paraplegic killed*** The latest death comes a day after Israeli soldiers shot dead a man in a wheelchair in the West Bank. Arafat Yaqub, 31, was shot in the head when troops opened fire on stone-throwing demonstrators near a checkpoint at Qalandiya refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, medics said. An Israeli military source said that troops had opened fire on several Palestinians they claimed were trying to enter an Israeli industrial zone near the camp. Residents of Qalandiya said Yaqub had been paralysed when soldiers shot him in a 1989 confrontation, and wounded again in a 2002 incident. Yaqub, a father of three, was an accomplished wheelchair basketball player and also directed a rehabilitation centre in the camp. **Barrier protest*** Palestinians attempting to stop the construction of a new section of a barrier Israel is building slicing off parts of the occupied West Bank, were fired on said witnesses on Monday. Some 1000 villagers in the al-Zaqiah community tried to physically bar Israeli bulldozers from razing their land but were dispersed by Israeli troops. Soldiers opened fire with rubber bullets and tear gas at stone-throwing youths. Medics reported some injuries. Israel is building a huge concrete barrier separating parts of the West Bank and isolating thousands of Palestinians. It also annexes some of the most fertile and water-rich areas. Foreign peace activists and women's organisations participated in the demonstration. Israel claims the barrier, which is eight metres high at some points, is necessary to prevent resistance fighters from entering Israel. But Palestinians fear the wall is a mere land- grab and will mark the borders of a future state. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Sundown on the seaside edge of Gaza Strip, in Gaza City, Sunday, June 6, 2004. (AP)

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