Palestinian Teenager Killed by Israeli Troops

13/11/2005| IslamWeb

A Palestinian teenager has been killed by gunfire from Israeli soldiers, a Palestinian security official said.

The body of Bilal al-Shahr, 19, was found in the southern Gaza Strip near the security fence that separates it with Israel late on Saturday.

Israeli gunfire also injured another Palestinian, said the official.

An Israeli occupation army spokeswoman earlier said soldiers had fired at two Palestinians.

"Two Palestinians were identified as they were crawling towards the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip. They were cutting part of the fence and apparently they were placing an explosive device on the ground," she said.

"The forces opened fire at the, two hitting them," the Israeli army spokeswoman added.

The incident came as around 200,000 Israelis rallied for peace in Tel Aviv to mark the 10th anniversary of the assassination of premier Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish extremist opposed to his policy of reconciliation with the Palestinians.

In a separate development, Israeli armed forces entered the Palestinian West Bank town of Jenin in about 15 Jeeps meeting some resistance, Palestinian security officials said.

A resistance fighter of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group linked to the movement of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, was wounded by gunshots.

An Israeli military source said that "an Israeli army unit spotted three armed Palestinians and opened fire at them during a patrol in the area south of Jenin".

PHOTO CAPTION

A Palestinian hospital worker covers the face of 22-year-old Bilal Asha at the morgue of the hopspital of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis early Sunday Nov. 13, 2005. (AP)