09 March 2018•Update: 10 March 2018
By Qais Abu Samra
RAMALLAH, Palestine
A Palestinian youth was martyred -- and another four injured -- in clashes with Israeli troops that erupted in the occupied West Bank on Friday, according to witnesses.
The clashes followed a weekly demonstration against the recent U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
According to Palestine’s Health Ministry, the slain Palestinian youth -- whose name was not given -- was shot in the chest by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Hebron.
In an earlier statement, the ministry announced that five Palestinians had been injured -- including the one in Hebron who later succumbed to his wounds -- in separate clashes across the West Bank.
Confrontations broke out near the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, where army troops used teargas and rubber bullets to disperse Palestinian protesters, eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency.
Demonstrators, for their part, hurled stones and empty bottles at troops and blocked roads with flaming car tires.
Similar clashes were reported in the villages of Mazraa al-Gharbia, Billin, Nilin and Nabi Saleh near Ramallah, and in the village of Kafr Qaddum near Nablus.
Since last December, Palestinians have staged frequent demonstrations in the occupied territories to protest U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Since Trump announced the controversial decision on Dec. 6, at least 26 Palestinians have been martyred in clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and on the border of the blockaded Gaza Strip.
