Israeli troops shoot at Gaza protesters as leaders negotiate

GAZA CITY - Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians and wounded at least 220 others at protests along the Gaza border fence on Friday, Gaza health officials said, as diplomats sought to secure a durable ceasefire deal.

One of the Palestinians killed was a teenager who died of his wounds on Saturday, a day after he was shot as Palestinians protested near the fence.

Muadh al-Suri, 15, was shot in the stomach by Israeli soldiers, health ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra said.

Over four months of weekly Friday protests that began on March 30 have reduced in intensity lately but organisers have vowed they would continue until Israel lifts economic sanctions on the coastal enclave.

The Israeli military said troops had responded with "riot dispersal means" and had operated "according to standard operating procedures," a term that refers to the use of accurate live fire, after some Gazans broke through the fence and attacked troops with firebombs and an explosive device.

It said some 8,000 Gazans had participated in the protests at five locations along the fence.

A Gaza hospital official said of the 220 hurt, 90 suffered wounds as a result of the live fire. The dead was a 25-year-old man.

At least 156 Palestinians have been killed in the protests and one Israeli soldier was shot dead by a sniper in Gaza.

Kites and helium balloons laden with incendiary material and flown over the Gaza fence have burned tracts of farmland and forests in Israeli territory.

Mediation efforts

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a trip to Colombia next week, his office said, and is due to consult with top ministers on Sunday on proposals to end the tensions, Israeli media has reported.

Some top ranking Hamas officials arrived in Gaza from Egypt late on Thursday to discuss the possible deal but no details have been given. The delegation included the group's deputy chief, Saleh al-Arouri, exiled by Israel in 2010.

"The delegation will (consult) ... over issues of concern for the Palestinian people, foremost in achieving the national reconciliation and ending the Gaza blockade," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said before the delegation arrived.

More than two million Palestinians are packed into the narrow strip which suffers deep economic hardship.

Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but maintains tight control of its land and sea borders, citing security concerns over Hamas and other militant groups. Egypt also restricts movement in and out of Gaza on its border.

On Sunday, Nickolay Mladenov, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said on Twitter that he held "productive meetings" with Egyptian officials in efforts to de-escalate Gaza tensions and resolve humanitarian issues.

"The devil is always in the details but we are #movingforward in the interest of #peace," Mladenov said.

Israeli media said Israel was seeking a long-term commitment from Hamas to end the protests and halt the launch of the incendiary balloons and kites that have destroyed thousands of acres of farmland and forests, in exchange for lifting restrictions on the passage of goods and travel for Gaza.

Speaking about the Hamas delegation's visit, Hamas political official Hussam Badran said: "We will achieve a national unity of the highest level in order to break (Israel's) blockade... We want the blockade to end once and for all."

Aid ship seized

The Israeli military also said that Israel's navy had intercepted a Swedish-flagged activist boat bent on breaching the more than decade-long blockade, the second such ship in less than a week.

"The ship was monitored and was intercepted in accordance with international law," the army said in a statement, before the vessel, named Freedom for Gaza and carrying 12 people, was taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

"The (military) clarified to the ship's passengers that they are violating the legal naval blockade and that any humanitarian merchandise can be transferred to Gaza through the Port of Ashdod," the statement said.

The people on board were taken for "further inquiry".

Freedom was the second boat of the "Freedom Flotilla" to be intercepted en route to "break the blockade" on Gaza, organisers said.

The boat was carrying medical equipment.

Four boats left from Scandinavia in mid-May and stopped in some 28 ports along the way, with two remaining behind after a recent stop in the Italian port of Palermo.

On Sunday, the Israeli navy intercepted a Norwegian-flagged activist boat that was part of the flotilla.

Israel has fought three wars with Palestinian militants in Gaza since 2008 and says the blockade is necessary to keep them from obtaining weapons or materials that could be used for military purposes. Israel, the United States and other Western countries regard Hamas as a terrorist organization

UN officials have called for the blockade to be lifted, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian enclave where 80 percent of the two million population are dependent on aid.