22 December 2017•Update: 22 December 2017
By Nour Abu Aisha
GAZA CITY, Palestine
A Palestinian youth was martyred on Friday when Israeli troops used live ammunition to disperse protesters on the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel.
"The young man, Zakariyya al-Kafarne, 24, was killed after being shot in the head," Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry, said in a statement.
Fierce clashes erupted Friday between Palestinian youths and Israeli troops on the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel.
Friday’s rallies were organized by Gaza-based Palestinian political factions to voice rejection of the recent U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Palestinian youths threw stones at Israeli army personnel stationed on the strip’s eastern border, to which Israeli troops responded with teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition.
Several youths received medical treatment at the scene after suffering temporary asphyxia due to excessive teargas inhalation.
For the third week in a row, the Palestinian territories saw rallies on Friday against U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial decision on Dec. 6 to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the perennial Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
