PALESTINE/ISRAEL: Palestinian baby is killed by tear gas grenade.

Left: Young, armed and dangerous: Small boy is pictured raising a handgun during anti-Israel demonstration just hours after a Palestinian baby is killed by tear gas grenade 

Eight-month-old Palestinian boy choked to death in village near Bethlehem Died after Israeli forces launched attacks on protests across the West Bank. 

Hundreds of youths threw stones and firebombs at Israel forces in Hebron. A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was charged with stabbing two Jewish boys.

By Imogen Calderwood For Mailonline
As hundreds of anti-Israel demonstrators gathered today across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a young Palestinian boy was captured clutching a hand gun in a series of shocking images.

The young protester joined the ranks of his fellow Palestinians in clashes with Israeli forces in cities including Khan Yunis, Ramallah and Hebron.  

Elsewhere, a Palestinian baby died after choking on tear gas fired by Israeli forces, according to Palestinian officials.

The death of eight-month-old Ramadan Thawabteh, in a village near Bethlehem, takes the number of Palestinians killed in the wave of violence that erupted a month ago to 69. 

Child fighters: A young boy holds a gun during an anti-Israel demonstration in the Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis. Anti-Israel protests continued today across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as part of the latest surge of violence

 

Armed and dangerous: An eight-month-old baby became the latest victim of the violence today, after choking to death on tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers in a village near Bethlehem

Youths threw stones, firebombs and burning tyres at the Israeli soldiers, who hit back with tear gas and rubber bullets, in the volatile southern West Bank city of Hebron.

The city of around 200,000 Palestinians is believed to be the final resting place of the prophet Abraham, revered in both religions, and is a powder-keg in the current spate of violence.

It has long been the commercial heart of the occupied West Bank, but the presence of 500 Israeli settlers near the city centre, protected by barbed wire, watchtowers and a buffer zone patrolled by the Israeli army has helped make it a hotbed of unrest.

Clashes have moved away from the city of Jerusalem in recent days, but uprisings have sprung up across the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

in the northern city of Nablus, two Palestinians allegedly tried to stab members of Israeli forces guarding a major checkpoint, and were shot, police said. One died and the other was wounded and arrested.

Violent clashes also erupted in Ramallah, where an Israeli army jeep hit a crowd of protesters, injuring a young man.

Soldiers sprayed tear gas at medics attempting to reach him, before arresting the youth.

In the blockaded Gaza Strip, where 17 Palestinians have died in clashes in recent weeks, protesters clashed with Israeli forces along the northern and eastern borders.

Although Jerusalem has been calmer in recent days, the city saw its first stabbing attack today for two weeks.

A 23-year-old Palestinian was shot dead after stabbing and lightly wounding an American tourist.

A bystander was also injured when security forces opened fire on the Palestinian.

Meanwhile, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy has been charged with attempted murder over the stabbing and serious injury of two Israeli schoolboys in occupied east Jerusalem.

The boy, Ahmed Manasra, and his 15-year-old cousin Hassan, allegedly decided to ‘become martyrs…and to stab Jews,’ according to the Israeli justice ministry.

A 23-year-old Palestinian was shot dead after stabbing and lightly wounding an American tourist.

A bystander was also injured when security forces opened fire on the Palestinian.

Meanwhile, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy has been charged with attempted murder over the stabbing and serious injury of two Israeli schoolboys in occupied east Jerusalem.

The boy, Ahmed Manasra, and his 15-year-old cousin Hassan, allegedly decided to ‘become martyrs…and to stab Jews,’ according to the Israeli justice ministry.

WHAT IS AN 'INTIFADA'?  

Although literally meaning ‘shaking’, the word Intifada is more typically translated as ‘uprising’ or ‘resistance’ against oppression.

The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, which lasted from December 1987 until the Madrid Conference in 1991.

It was sparked after an Israeli Defence Forces’ truck collided with a civilian car in the Jabalia refugee camp, killing four Palestinians.

A protest movement arose in the wake of the incident, involving unarmed resistance and civil disobedience, including refusal to pay taxes, graffiti and widespread throwing of stones and Molotov cocktails.

In the intifada’s first year, Israeli security forces killed 311 Palestinians, including a high proportion of children and teenagers.

According to Save the Children, some seven per cent of all Palestinian children suffered injuries from shootings, beatings or tear gas over the first two years.

The Second Intifada took place from September 2000 to 2005. 

They allegedly went home, got knives, headed to the Jewish settlement of Pisgat Zeev and stabbed a young ultra-Orthodox Jew twice before he managed to escape.

They then accosted a 12-year-old who was on his bicycle, allegedly stabbing him four times before running away.

Hassan was shot dead after allegedly threatening Israeli security forces with a knife. Ahmed was hit by a car as he ran away, but survived.

Israel, Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories have been gripped by a surge of violence, with nine Israelis killed in a spate of stabbings and shootings this month.

Some 69 Palestinians and one Israeli Arab have also been killed. 

Tensions soared a month ago over the status of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem, a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews.

Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to change the rules that allow Muslims to pray there, but not non-Muslims.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied those claims.

Many fear the surge of unrest heralds a new intifada, or uprising, against Israel by a generation gripped by despair and anger over decades of occupation and stalled peace efforts.

Palestinian officials today urged the International Criminal Court to accelerate its probe into accusations of ‘Israeli war crimes’, handing over a new 52-page dossier alleging summary killings and collective punishment.  

 Long live Palestine