Army fire kills a 14-year-old, Palestinians say, as an Israeli minister visits flashpoint holy site

A man holds a copy of Koran as Israeli police blockade the entrance to Al-Aqsa compound also known to Jews as Temple Mount, following a visit to the site by Israel’s hard-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in Jerusalem’s Old City 

Israeli military fire killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Thursday, as an ultranationalist Israeli Cabinet minister visited a sensitive Jerusalem holy site that has been a frequent flashpoint for violence between Israel and the Palestinians. 

Itamar Ben-Gvir's visit to the disputed hilltop compound comes as Israel and the Palestinians are locked in a year-and-a-half long bout of fighting and could enflame already surging tensions. It also drew condemnation from neighboring Jordan, from Saudi Arabia and from Palestinians who view such visits as provocative.

The site is revered by Jews and Muslims, and the competing claims lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Early Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said 14-year-old Fares Sharhabil Abu Samra was killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank town of Qalqilya. The Israeli military said Palestinians threw rocks and firebombs at troops, who responded by firing into the air. It said the incident was being reviewed.

It also prompted the Hamas militant group to announce the launch of a rare rocket from the West Bank and drew condemnation from across the Muslim world.