Gaza border
Gaza borderTomer Neuberg/Flash 90

Gaza’s health ministry said on Friday that Israeli soldiers shot dead a young Palestinian during clashes along the Gaza border, AFP reports.

"Mohammed Abu Saada, 26, died after being shot in the chest by Israeli soldiers in clashes east of the Al-Bureij camp," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement quoted by the news agency.

The IDF, clarifying the incident, told AFP that "during a violent riot adjacent to the security fence in the central Gaza Strip, dozens of rioters breached the buffer zone, approached and damaged the security fence and attempted to infiltrate Israel".

"Forces fired shots in order to distance and disperse rioters," a military spokeswoman added.

The incident is not the first of its kind, as Gazans have constantly been provoking IDF soldiers stationed near the border fence. These provocations usually take place on Fridays, when Arabs riot near the border fence and attack security forces with rocks.

The soldiers ask the rioters to move back but they ignore the calls and continue to approach the fence, forcing troops to open fire.

Fridays are known as a day of protest in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. These are mainly provoked by Hamas and other terrorist groups which encourage Palestinian Arabs to hold “days of rage” on Fridays.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)