2 Palestinian teens killed in clashes with Israeli troops

GAZA CITY — Two Palestinian teens were killed in clashes with the Israeli military on Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, in a wave of violence sparked last month when President Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said 16-year-old Amir Abu Musaed 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 with live fire 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 at them.

The military said forces were conducting searches in a neighboring village for the suspect 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, and an increase in militant rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Israeli fire has killed 16 Palestinians since Trump’s Jerusalem announcement. One Israeli has been killed in a Palestinian attack.