Two Palestinian youths martyred by Israeli army in Gaza

By Mohamed Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Two Palestinian youths were martyred by Israeli army gunfire on Friday near the blockaded Gaza Strip’s eastern border, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

“Yasser Sokkar, 32, was martyred in the [Gaza Strip’s] Al-Shukaiyya district,” ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement.

The second martyr, al-Qudra added, had been identified as Ibrahim Abu Thouraia, 29.

The ministry went on to report that a total of 111 Palestinians had been injured on Friday -- in both the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank -- amid clashes with Israeli security forces.

Injuries included five people in “serious” condition in Gaza and another two in the West Bank city of Ramallah, according to the ministry statement.

Fierce clashes erupted Friday after thousands of Palestinian youths marched through the eastern districts of the Gaza Strip, scores of whom at one point approached the border with Israel.

According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent at the scene, Palestinian youths threw rocks at Israeli troops manning the border zone, while the latter responded with teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition.

It was the second Friday in a row to see angry demonstrations in the Palestinian territories to protest last week’s decision by the U.S. to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.