Israeli troops on Sunday shot and killed a Palestinian teenager during a violent demonstration in the West Bank against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical officials said.
It was the first death in the West Bank connected to the Gaza offensive, and the shooting raised the risk that Israeli-Palestinian clashes would spread from Gaza to other Palestinian areas.
Fourteen-year-old Mahmoud Musalameh was shot in the chest, said Dr. Mohammed al-Zaru, from the Alia hospital in Hebron.
The Israeli army said it was looking into the incident. A spokesman said the youths were engaged in a "violent demonstration," throwing firebombs and putting soldiers at risk.
Hundreds of youths at the protest hurled rocks and concrete chunks at Israeli jeeps and soldiers on city streets.
Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed nearly 70 Palestinians in two days of fighting, many of them civilians. On Saturday alone, 54 Palestinians were killed in fighting, the highest single-day death toll in more than seven years of violence. Two Israeli soldiers were also killed.
Israel says the offensive _ including ground troops, airstrikes and tank shelling _ is meant to halt Palestinian militants firing rocket barrages into Israel, which have reached as far as the port town of Ashkelon, 17 kilometers (11 miles) from the strip.
Schools and shops across the West Bank shut down on Sunday to protest the army operation in Gaza and there were demonstrations throughout the territory at traditional flashpoints between Israeli troops and Palestinian youths, like checkpoints, watchtowers and patrol routes.
Later in Hebron, about 2,000 angry Hamas supporters marched through the city streets, waving copies of the Quran and green Hamas flags. "Revenge. Revenge. Retaliate in Tel Aviv," the crowd chanted.
The protest was uninterrupted by Palestinian security forces, who have previously violently broke up Hamas rallies in Hebron.
However, when the marchers reached the Israeli-controlled part of the town they hurled stones at troops, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Four Palestinians were taken away by soldiers, witnesses said. Clashes are frequent in Hebron, where some 500 settlers live in heavily-guarded enclaves among about 160,000 Palestinians.
In the West Bank town of Ramallah, club-wielding Palestinian security forces lobbed tear gas canisters and pushed back dozens of women demonstrating in support of Hamas. No injuries were reported. Hours later, in another demonstration in Ramallah, hundreds of Palestinian security men tried to stop TV crews filming and clubbed protesters, said Muhib Barghouthi, a photographer who was on scene.
Protests also took place in Palestinian refugee camps in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
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