Fifteen Palestinians injured in further violence

Fifteen Palestinians were injured by Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers today, medical officials and witnesses said.

Fifteen Palestinians were injured by Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers today, medical officials and witnesses said.

Khaled Mussa al-Najar (45) was shot as he tended his sheep near the West Bank city of Hebron in a pasture near the Jewish settlement of Sussia. He was taken by Israeli soldiers to the Soroka military hospital in Beersheba, in southern Israel, Palestinian sources said.

Israeli military radio reported that the settler, who is being questioned by police, said he opened fire at Najar because of the Palestinian's "threatening posture."

In the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Israeli soldiers shot a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in the chest near the Karni crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip, seriously injuring him. Witnesses said the boy was in a crowd of youths who were gathered near the flashpoint crossing point, but said that there were no clashes when he was shot.

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Around the West Bank town of Ramallah, Israeli troops fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets on dozens of demonstrators marching on an Israeli checkpoint on the northern edge of the Arab-run city, witnesses said.

Ten Palestinian stone-throwers were lightly injured there, medical officials said.

A second front of clashes broke out between Ramallah and the nearby West Bank village of Bir Zeit on a spot where the Israeli army dug up a road to enforce its closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Three Palestinians were also injured, one critically, when Israeli troops fired on a Palestinian car which the army said failed to stop at a checkpoint near Ramallah, army radio reported.

Medical officials confirmed that one of the Palestinians in the car was shot in the chest and that his condition was critical. Two other passengers were lightly injured.

AFP