A Palestinian teenager was killed this morning in Jenin when a gun battle broke out between Israeli special forces and armed Palestinians in the northern West Bank town, Palestinian medical sources said.
Hisham Amr, a 16-year-old member of the hard-line organisation Islamic Jihad, was shot dead when he tried to flee the Israeli troops, Palestinian security officials said. He was not armed, they added.
Six other people were injured in the clashes, medics said.
Later, an 85-year-old Palestinian shepherd was killed by Israeli army gunfire close to the Jewish settlement of Netzarim on the southern edge of Gaza City, Palestinian security officials said.
Abdallah al-Ashab was hit by three bullets and his body was later handed over by the army to the Palestinians via a security liaison office, the officials said.
New cabinet meets
Israel's new right-wing cabinet met this morning for the first time.
It faces new lows in the economy and a rare US rebuke over the deaths of Palestinian civilians.
The new cabinet was finalised late Monday with the swearing-in of two ministers from the National Religious Party.
The NRP supports the expansion of Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territory and opposes creating a Palestinian state.
Sharon said the main task of his new cabinet, which includes four far-right ministers from the NRP and the ultra-hardline National Union bloc, was to tackle the worst economic crisis in the country's 54-year history.
Meanwhile, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is still considering naming a prime minister for the Palestinian Authority.
