Palestinian youths in the West Bank and Jerusalem clashed with Israeli troops who fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber coated bullets as another day of rage was observed on Friday (16 October).
In Hebron, as clashes were taking place, a Palestinian posing as a journalist wounded an Israeli soldier with a knife before being shot dead, the Israeli military said. After the noon prayers near al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Palestinians clashed with border police who fired tear gas and stun grenades to dispersed the demonstrators.
In Bethlehem and Ramallah, Palestinian youths approached military posts on the outskirts of the West Bank cities, setting tires ablaze and hurling stones towards the troops. Earlier on 16 October, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank set fire to a Jewish shrine near Nablus as tensions ran high after more than two weeks of violence.
Violence also broke out in the Gaza Strip when Palestinians approached the border fence with Israel. They threw stones at soldiers, who opened fire, killing one Palestinian and wounding several others, Palestinian medical officials said. The unrest that has engulfed Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, the most serious in years, has claimed the lives of 34 Palestinians and seven Israelis.
The Palestinian dead include 11 knife-wielding assailants, police said, as well as children and protesters shot during violent demonstrations. One man died in Gaza from wounds sustained in a clash a week ago. The Israelis were killed in random attacks in the street or on buses.
