Gaza /PNN/

On Sunday, the Palestinian health ministry said 18-year-old Majdi Ghabayen succumbed to injuries he sustained during a protest that was held along the fence separating Gaza from the occupied territories on September 13 in support of al-Aqsa Mosque.

On September 13, five Palestinians were killed and more than 10 others injured due to the accidental explosion.

Palestinians have been protesting in eastern Gaza since September 13 almost on a daily basis to show support for al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, amid rising acts of violence by Israeli forces and settlers.

Israelis have been engaged in provocative intrusions into the Mosque, one of the holiest Muslim sites in the world located in occupied east al-Quds, in recent months in what many believe is a plot to divide the mosque and to turn parts of it into a Jewish temple.

The demonstrators also show their solidarity with Palestinians held in Israeli jails and call for an end to the crippling Israeli siege on Gaza.

Gaza, home to about two million Palestinians, has been under Israeli siege since June 2007. The tight blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

Seven Palestinians have so far been killed and dozens of others injured at the hands of Israeli forces who attacked the protests in eastern Gaza.

On Sunday, Israel continued to attack protesters in eastern Gaza, using live ammunition and tear gas.

Medical sources said six young men were shot and injured east of the al-Bureij refugee camp, while dozens of others suffered from breathing difficulties due to inhaling tear gas fired by the regime’s troops.

The protesters were raising the Palestinian flag and chanting anti-Israel slogans.

The protesters reportedly managed to explode an explosive device at the gate of Abu Qatron at a section of the fence that separates the Central Gaza Governorate (Deir el-Balah) from the occupied territories.

They also fired incendiary balloons toward the occupied territories, causing fires in settlements built near Gaza.

Israel’s Kan TV channel said five fires erupted in settlements that are located adjacent to Gaza due to the incendiary balloons.

Also on Sunday, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at an observation post belonging to the resistance factions east of the al-Bureij refugee camp.

Israel also launched a drone attack on a similar position east of Jabalia Camp in northern Gaza.

Some 700,000 Israelis live in 279 settlements built across the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds since Tel Aviv’s occupation of the territories in 1967.

The international community regards the settlements as illegal under international law and the Geneva Conventions given that they have been constructed on occupied land.