JERUSALEM, Nov. 3 - A Palestinian boy carrying a toy gun was shot and seriously wounded by Israeli troops today during clashes in the northern West Bank town of Jenin.
The boy, Ahmed el-Khatib, 12 years old, was taken to an Israeli hospital with serious head injuries and brain damage.
Groups of young men were throwing stones at Israeli soldiers who were trying to arrest a local leader of the militant group, Islamic Jihad, Hossam Jaradat, 35, who was wounded in the leg. According to the Israeli army, gunshots were also fired at the soldiers.
Soldiers noticed what they thought was an armed gunman standing about 130 yards away from them and opened fire, hitting the target, which turned out to be the boy. He was evacuated by the Palestinian Red Crescent, and when the Israeli soldiers "approached the spot, they found the weapon which the Palestinian was holding and discovered it to be a plastic gun," according to an Israeli army statement, which also expressed regret for the wounding.
The Israeli commander in the West Bank ordered an investigation into the shooting.
The operation in Jenin, involving more than 30 army jeeps and two helicopters, was one of a continuing series of Israeli actions to arrest active members of Islamic Jihad and the militant faction, Hamas, after a series of terrorist attacks, including a suicide bombing, shooting at civilians and rocket and mortar attacks toward Israel from Gaza.
An Israeli soldier was lightly wounded today by a mortar shell fired from Gaza, and the military responded by firing artillery into the fields from which mortars and rockets are launched.
The Israeli actions have strained the stated commitment of Hamas to the cease-fire with Israel. Hamas is running in Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for Jan. 25 and has vowed to keep the cease-fire, popular with Palestinians, through then. But the group has also said that it retains the right to respond to Israeli violations.
While the Egyptians would like the Palestinian factions to extend the truce for another year, Hamas leaders in Gaza, like Mahmoud Zahar, have said that any extension will be difficult "if Israeli aggression continues." Israel says that it is only acting to defend itself against continuing efforts by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to carry out terrorism against Israel.
Israel today also arrested a teenaged settler alleged to have punched a deputy brigade commander in the eye a week ago during the evacuation of an illegal settlement outpost near Elon Moreh in the West Bank. The teenager, 17, is charged with punching Lt. Col. Benny Shick, who was evacuated to a hospital for treatment.
It was only the latest example of the so-called "hilltop youth" - aggressive young settlers - confronting the army, slashing the tires of their jeeps or burning them, tearing soldiers' uniforms and even hitting them when they attempt to dismantle illegal outposts.