A 16-year-old Palestinian was killed and at least 16 others were wounded by Israeli troops Monday in the West Bank City of Jenin. In another incident just south of Gaza City, a Palestinian gunman was killed trying to infiltrate the Jewish settlement of Netzarim.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli troops fired on a group of teenage boys who were on their way to school Monday morning. Reports say the teenagers started throwing stones at the Israeli troops and that the accompanying Israeli tanks retaliated with machine-gun fire. Two of the injured were said to have suffered serious wounds.
In a separate incident in Jenin's Old City, the army arrested two suspected members of the militant group Islamic Jihad. Reports from the city said a fierce gun battle erupted as Israeli troops approached the house where Murad Hassanein and Mohammed Abu Aqel were apprehended. About a dozen Palestinians were reported wounded in the shooting. The troops then withdrew from the town.
Earlier Monday, an armed Palestinian was killed after he tried to infiltrate the Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim. Israeli media said the gunman was wearing an Israeli army uniform and was armed with an automatic rifle and three hand grenades. One Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in the incident.
On Sunday, two Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces raided the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza strip, destroying the homes of suspected members of Islamic Jihad and Hamas. One of the dead Palestinians was the father of an Islamic Jihad activist. His body was found in the rubble of one of the houses.
Two Israeli helicopters fired three missiles at a car east of Gaza City late Sunday afternoon. Islamic Jihad said it was an attempt to kill one of its commanders. The man, who was not identified, escaped unharmed. Reports said he and the other men with him, jumped out of the car just as the Apache helicopters fired on it.