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GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli forces killed a Palestinian and wounded more than 200 others during a weekly demonstration on the Gaza-Israel border, officials said.
The protesters rode burning tires and threw stones at Israeli soldiers and at the border fence, witnesses said. The Israeli army said some had thrown firebombs and a grenade. No Israeli was injured.
Reuters TV pictures showed incendiary kites in the air sent to Israel.
Palestinian health officials said a 17-year-old boy was shot dead by Israeli soldiers and that 210 others were wounded, including 45 with live fire, including a doctor.
According to a statement from the Israeli army, the soldiers used riot control devices and acted "in accordance with standard operating procedures". Israeli warplanes also hit two outposts of Hamas, the army said.
Since Gazans started organizing weekly border protests began on March 30, the Israeli army has killed 173 Palestinians and injured thousands. An elite gunman shot dead an Israeli soldier.
Gaza, a narrow coastal enclave housing more than 2 million Palestinians, is controlled by the Islamist group Hamas. Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but maintains strict control over its land and sea borders. Egypt also restricts movements inside and outside Gaza on its border.
The demonstrations are taking place at a time of growing frustration with the prospects of an independent Palestinian state. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been stalled for several years and Israeli settlements in the occupied territories have developed.
Israel says Hamas is deliberately provoking violence during the demonstrations, a charge denied by Hamas.
Report by Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ari Rabinovitch; Edition by Raissa Kasolowsky
