Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian teenager in Bethlehem today as they confronted protesters during a raid to arrest a wanted militant in the West Bank city, medics and witnesses said.
Palestinian witnesses said troops were surrounding a house where a militant was suspected of hiding out when they were attacked by protesters hurling stones, prompting the soldiers to open fire.
Medics said a 14-year-old boy died after being shot in the chest and said two other people were wounded in the incident near Manger Square, the site of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem.
An Israeli military spokesman said its soldiers had shot at the protesters after a grenade was thrown at them.
The Israeli rescue service Zaka said a soldier was lightly injured by a grenade.
The violence erupted hours after an Israeli soldier was killed in the Gaza Strip by gunmen who ambushed the troops during a raid against militants.
More than 210 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, have been killed in Israeli operations against gunmen in Gaza and the West Bank, since Israel intensified its raids after the capture of a soldier near the Gaza border on June 25.