Palestinian, 13, Killed; 3 Israeli Soldiers Wounded by Bomb

Israeli soldiers killed a 13-year-old Palestinian in Bethlehem on Friday, and three Israeli soldiers were wounded by a roadside bomb in southern Lebanon.

The boy’s death raises to 461 the number of Palestinians killed in the 17-month-old uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

An army spokesman said the boy was shot when he joined masked youths who were throwing stones and iron bars at an army observation post in Bethlehem and was dead on arrival at an Arab hospital.

Arab reporters identified the boy as Milad Anton Shaheen and said he was building a roadblock when he was killed by a bullet.

Shaheen’s family took the body and tried to hold a funeral service in Manger Square, across from the Church of the Nativity, but Israeli soldiers and police blocked the procession, the Arab reporters said.

They said the boy was buried in neighboring Beit Sahur village and the funeral procession grew into a nationalist demonstration of more than 500 marchers. Dozens of masked youths waved Palestinian flags and shouted, “With our blood and souls we shall redeem our martyr!”