GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Two Palestinian teens were killed Thursday in clashes with the Israeli military, Palestinian health officials said, the latest in a wave of violence sparked last month when President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Amir Abu Musaed, 16, was shot in the chest in unrest along Gaza’s border fence with Israel. Witnesses said two dozen people approached the fence, setting a tire on fire and throwing stones. The Israeli military said “violent riots” took place along the border fence and that after firing warning shots into the air, troops opened fire at three protesters who “posed a threat” to the security fence and to soldiers.
In the West Bank, the Health Ministry said Ali Omar, 16, was shot in the head in clashes near the city of Nablus. Naser Qados, Omar’s cousin, said soldiers who had erected a checkpoint at the entrance to a village opened fire on protesters who were throwing stones.
The military said forces were conducting searches in a neighboring village for the person behind the shooting death this week of an Israeli man when Palestinians hurled a “massive” amount of rocks at them. The military said soldiers fired at the “main instigator.”
Trump’s declaration on Jerusalem triggered protests across the West Bank and Gaza, as well as an increase in militant rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Israel has responded to fire from Gaza with tank shelling and airstrikes, and it has opened fire on protests it has called violent.