Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinians, including a teenager, in the Gaza Strip during the latest of weekly protests on Friday, Palestinian health officials said. Late on Thursday, Israeli troops had killed another teenager in the occupied West Bank.
Ayman Shehr, 18, was shot by Israeli forces died of his wounds Saturday. He was shot in the stomach in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP.
Three other Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed on Friday by Israeli fire during protests and clashes along the Gaza border, according to the ministry.
The Israeli army said around 8,000 Palestinians had gathered at spots along the frontier, burning tires and launching an incendiary device at soldiers that did not reach the troops.
Israel's military said it had opened fire "according to operational procedures" in place.
More than 40 Palestinians -- including two journalists and four first aid responders -- were wounded, Qudra said.
At least 239 Palestinians have been killed since the protests by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip began on March 30, mostly by Israeli fire during border clashes but also by air and tank strikes.
Two Israeli soldiers have been killed over the same period, one by a Palestinian sniper and another during an aborted special forces operation inside Gaza.
Protesters are calling for Palestinian refugees to be allowed to return to their former homes now inside lands occupied by Israel.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it opened fire on a car after it broke through a West Bank checkpoint.
The military said it was on high alert in the area after shots were fired from a Palestinian village late Thursday. It said soldiers fired warning shots in the air when the driver ignored orders to halt but the car sped up instead.
The army said it responded with live fire, killing one passenger.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the dead passenger as Qasim Abbasi, 17, from occupied East Jerusalem. His cousin, Mohammad Abbasi, told the Associated Press that he, Qasim, and a friend were driving out of the Palestinian city of Ramallah when an Israeli soldier told them the road was closed.
Abbasi said when they tried to make a U-turn, a soldier fired at their car, shattering the rear window and striking Qasim in the back.
Abbasi said he and his friend, who was driving, were not injured.
He said they were released after being interrogated by police.
The West Bank saw a spike in violence last week after a pair of deadly shootings targeting Israeli soldiers and settlers.
The army has arrested scores of Hamas activists as it ratchets up its manhunt for a Palestinian assailant.
The West Bank is illegally occupied by Israel, according to UN Security Council resolutions. But since 1967, Israel has built settlements and seized Palestinian land, and built a separation wall and highways that connect settlements without passing through Palestinian villages.
