UPDATE 4 - Israel uses force to disperse Palestinian protests

UPDATES WITH PROTESTER DEATH IN GAZA

JERUSALEM/GAZA (AA) - At least one Palestinian was killed in the Gaza Strip after Israeli troops began using force to disperse protests that erupted following Friday prayers, according to Anadolu Agency correspondents at the scene.

Thousands of Palestinians staged rallies on Friday in the blockaded Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem to protest a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump -- announced earlier this week -- to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, hundreds of Palestinians marched from the city center to Israel’s Bet Eil army checkpoint.

In several instances, Israeli forces responded to protests with rubber bullets and excessive teargas. In some cases, they have fired live ammunition into the air in an effort to disperse demonstrators.

"At least one Palestinian was hurt by live ammunition and 14 others with rubber bullets during clashes that erupted in Ramallah city," the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement.

Clashes between protesters and Israeli forces have so far been reported in several West Bank cities, including Hebron (Al-Khalil), Bethlehem, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqiliya and Jericho.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC), at least three Palestinians were injured by live ammunition during clashes near the Al-Arroub refugee camp near Hebron.

In a statement, the PRC also said at least 12 Palestinians had been hurt by rubber bullets in the village of Kafr Qaddoum near Nablus while another three had sustained similar injuries in Bethlehem.

"So far, a total of 162 Palestinians have suffered excessive teargas inhalation across the West Bank, including 40 in the village of Kasra,” read the PRC statement.

“Another 30 have been injured by rubber bullets," it added.

In Jerusalem, meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians marched from the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to the Bab al-Amoud (also known as the Damascus Gate) shouting slogans against Trump’s controversial move and stressing Jerusalem’s Arabic and Muslim identity.

Here, too, Israeli police dispersed protesters using excessive amounts of teargas and occasionally firing live ammunition into the air.

The PRC says it has provided medical treatment to at least three Palestinians who were reportedly beaten by Israeli soldiers.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, dozens of Palestinians marched to the Qalandia checkpoint north of Jerusalem, where they engaged in clashes with Israeli forces.

Earlier Friday, the Israeli authorities dramatically stepped up security in and around East Jerusalem in anticipation of widespread Palestinian protests.

According to reports in local media, Israeli forces have been instructed to use minimum force against Palestinian demonstrators.

-Protester killed

In the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, a Palestinian man was killed after clashes erupted between Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces near the enclave’s border crossings.

“Mahmoud al-Masri, 30, was shot in the neck by Israeli forces during clashes that broke out in Khan Younis city,” Ashraf al-Qodra, a spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry, said in a statement.

“Al-Masri was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was soon pronounced dead,” al-Qodra added.

According to the spokesman, 33 other Palestinians were hurt by live ammunition during the clashes in Gaza.

On Wednesday, Trump -- reversing decades of U.S. policy -- announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move Washington’s Israel embassy to the city.

The following day, demonstrations against the move were reported in the occupied Palestinian territories, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq and in some other Muslim countries.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- now occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.