Palestinian teen killed by Israeli army amid protests in West Bank and Gaza

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Here's what happened during widespread protests in the occupied West Bank and Gaza on Friday, as Israeli and Palestinian Authority forces dispersed Palestinian demonstrators throughout the day.

The escalating tensions followed a 48-hour period during which four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed, and after Israeli forces launched a wave of arrests across the West Bank.

► Palestinian Mahmoud Yousef Nakhla, 18, died after being shot in the stomach by Israeli troops in Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah

► At least 57 Palestinians were injured throughout the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent

► Israeli fire injured 75 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including two photojournalists, during the 38th week of Friday protests against the Israeli blockade

► Palestinian Authority forces violently dispersed a protest in Nablus organised by its rival faction, Hamas

► More than 100 Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli forces in raids of West Bank cities since Thursday

Palestinian security forces have reportedly dispersed crowds gathering in the Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah, where a local youth was shot dead by Israeli forces earlier in the day. 

Video shared on social media showed the Palestinian Authority forces using stun grenades to chase off protesters in the Jalazone refugee camp. 

Mahmoud Yousef Nakhla, 18, died in Jalazone after being shot in the abdomen, the Palestinian health ministry said.  

Translation: Security forces in Ramallah disperse tens of youth who came out in angry marches to condemn the killing of the youth Mahmoud Nakhla

Mohammed Asad, Middle East Eye's correspondent in the Gaza Strip, interviewed some of the protesters on Friday who demonstrated for the 38th consecutive week as part of the March of Return, and denounced the ongoing Israeli military raids in the West Bank.

Here is what Mohammed al-Bardini, 19, from Gaza City, had to say:

"I carry the picture of Ashraf Naalwa. He is a Palestinian symbol and hero, he shook the occupation and he is an honour for all Palestinians."

Naalwa, a Palestinian who was named by the Israeli army as a suspect in the murder of two Israelis at the recycling centre where he worked in the Barkan industrial zone of the West Bank, was killed after a two-month manhunt early on Thursday. 

"The political game failed and Trump's deal of the century will fail with the March of Return. We will break the [Israeli] siege soon because we have legitimate rights and free people, nations and governments of the world know these rights."

Atta Hadaid, a 28-year-old from Khan Younis, told MEE:

"We are one people and we ask the Palestinians in the West Bank to go out in mass protests like the ones in Gaza at the military checkpoints, and resist the occupation and the settlements that are expanding."

At least 11 Palestinians have been injured by live fire or rubber-coated steel bullets during clashes south of the West Bank city of Nablus, according to the Palestinian Authority's Wafa news agency. 

Like every Friday, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip picked a theme to rally behind for their weekly Friday demonstration as part of the Great March of Return. 

This week's Gaza protest was themed the "legitimate right of resistance", as a show of solidarity for Palestinians protesting against the Israeli army in the West Bank.

Launched in March 2018, the Great March of Return calls for the right of return of Palestinian refugees, and the end of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip by Egypt and Israel. 

Since its inception, hundreds of Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire, with thousands more injured. Here is a breakdown of the deaths and injuries since the Great March of Return began on 30 March:

► 235 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during protests, air strikes, or other military raids 

► 6,000 Palestinians injured by Israeli forces 

► 1,000 Palestinians shot by Israeli fire could face permanent disabilities

A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was injured in the foot by a bullet fired by settlers near Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah, while Israeli settlers reportedly attacked Palestinian cars near the village of Sinjil, Quds News reported. 

The outlet also published photos of tear gas being dropped from drones on protesters gathering in al-Bireh, Ramallah's twin city.

Palestinian media outlets have just reported that a Palestinian was killed by Israeli forces in the Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah.

Translation: The martyrdom of a citizen who succumbed to his wounds at the Palestine Medical complex in Ramallah 

The PA Ministry of Health reported that the as-of-yet unidentified Palestinian had been shot in the abdomen.

Wafa news agency has identified the Palestinian killed earlier on Friday in the Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah as 18-year-old Mahmoud Yousef Nakhla, who was shot by Israeli forces in the abdomen and succumbed to his wounds in hospital.

Other news outlets, however, reported that Nakhla was 15 years old.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, at least six other Palestinians have been wounded by rubber-coated steel bullets and dozens have suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation in the Ramallah area.

Palestinian officials have condemned posters plastered across the West Bank calling for the assassination of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. 

The posters, reportedly put up by a far-right Israeli group, showed Abbas's picture overlayed with a target and Hebrew slogan saying: "Eliminate the people sponsoring murder."

Israeli fire injured 60 Palestinians during protests on Gaza's buffer zone, according to the Gaza health ministry.

The ministry noted that seven paramedics and journalists were among the injured. The two Palestinian photographers previously reported hurt were among the injured. 

Two Palestinian photojournalists have been injured in Gaza, according to Middle East Eye's correspondent at the protests on the boundary with Israel. 

Mustafa Hassouneh and Attiyah Darwish were hit by gas canisters fired by Israeli soldiers, Palestinian news outlet Quds News reported. 

MEE correspondent Mohammed Asad reported that there was chanting in support of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during Friday's protest, in response to which he said Israeli forces used tear gas more heavily than in recent weeks. 

At least 46 Palestinians have been injured, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Translation: Attiyah Darwish, a photojournalist, arrived at the hospital after he was injured by a tear gas canister that hit him in the face while covering clashes east of Gaza City. 

An Israeli soldier was seriously wounded after a Palestinian reportedly stabbed him and struck him with a stone on the head near the illegal settlement of Beit El, north of Ramallah, Israeli news site Ynet reported.

The Palestinian reportedly entered the settlement through a gap of missing concrete in the wall of a military post.

Witnesses told Ynet that the Palestinian fled the scene after he surprised the soldier from behind, stabbed him and attacked him with a rock.

The soldier has been taken to Hadassah Ein Karem hospital in Jerusalem.

Israeli forces have encircled the Palestinian city of Ramallah and al-Bireh, the administrative centre of the Palestinian Authority, for nearly two days - but the Israeli army told Middle East Eye that it had not declared the city a closed military zone.

"The city of Ramallah is open to people wishing to enter it, " an army spokesperson told MEE on Friday. "There are additional security checks taking place at different entrances to the city but it's not closed."

The spokesperson said they could not immediately comment on whether Ramallah had officially been a closed military zone earlier in the week.

Despite the army's official denial, Palestinian news outlets were reporting that Israeli forces were still cutting the city off from its surroundings for a second consecutive day.

Official PA news agency Wafa said the Israeli army had sealed off some of the main entrances to the city - the DCO and Atara checkpoints, the Ein Sinya and Oyoun al-Haramiya intersections, as well as the Silwad bridge.

While the situation has intensified in the Ramallah area since Wednesday evening, Israeli forces have ramped up their presence in the central West Bank ever since a drive-by shooting outside the illegal settlement of Ofra on Sunday.

Good afternoon and welcome to the MEE Live blog.

Here's a quick recap of developments inside the West Bank as Israel bolsters its military presence inside Ramallah:

►Israeli forces arrested at least 40 Palestinians in raids across the West Bank on Thursday evening

► Israeli forces killed four Palestinians over a period of 48 hours - two of whom Israel has accused of being involved in separate deadly attacks on Israelis. The fourth Palestinian was killed on Thursday evening in al-Bireh, and his identity remains unconfirmed.

► Palestinian shooters killed two Israeli soldiers and injured two others in a drive-by shooting on Thursday at a bus stop near the illegal settlement of Ofra. 

Palestinian Authority (PA) forces in the city of Hebron violently dispersed a protest condemning the Israeli military operation and overnight arrests in the occupied West Bank.

The PA forces attacked women, detained a number of protesters, and tried to prevent journalists from filming, local reporters said.

Hamas, the most popular Palestinian faction in Hebron, was named by the PA as one of the organisers of the protests.

Other protests against the Israeli escalation happened in the towns of Nablus, Tulkarem, and the twin cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh.

PA security forces spokesman Adnan al-Dmeiri told a local radio station that "the batons used against Hamas members were not violent tools".

Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhum said: "It's a shame that the national security forces are confronting our people as they revolt, and attacking them and so continuing to protect the enemy." 

In the past week, Israeli troops raided Ramallah and declared it a military zone as they searched for Palestinians suspected of carrying out shooting attacks against Israelis.

Ramallah is the seat of the PA government and President Mahmoud Abbas's residence.

PA's security forces "hid" when Israeli military vehicles were present on the streets of Ramallah, local reporters said.

Translation: Palestinian security forces attack women and arrest tens of people while preventing journalists from filming while suppressing a march of Hamas movement in Hebron.