Palestinian teenager reported shot

Israeli tanks on the outskirts of Jenin where nine Palestinians died in clashes this week

JERUSALEM -- A Palestinian teenager was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in a clash near Karni checkpoint in Gaza Friday, according to Palestinian hospital sources.

The sources told CNN that Ramazi Hasuneh, 17, was shot in the chest. The Israel Defense Forces said the report was being checked.

Overnight the Israeli army said Palestinians fired at several army posts in Gaza and launched mortar bombs at the Gush Katif bloc of Jewish settlements. No injuries were reported.

The Palestinians have accused Israel of launching a new military offensive while world attention is focused on events in the United States.

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An aid to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said on Friday that a meeting between Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres was "likely" to be held Sunday.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon instructed Peres to cancel plans for the meeting, a senior Israeli political source said. "Sharon told Peres not to meet Arafat Sunday because the timing of the talks would hurt Israel," the Israeli source told Reuters.

A Palestinian cabinet minister accused Sharon of vetoing the meeting so he could "continue his terrorist war" against the Palestinian people.

Terje Roed-Larsen, the U.N.'s special Middle East envoy, said the talks -- which the European Union has been trying to broker -- could have been the last chance for peacemaking after a year of bloodshed.

"Mr Arafat and Mr Peres are parents of the peace process that was conceived in Olso," he told Reuters. "The possible meeting Sunday may be the last chance to save their baby."

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told reporters earlier that there should be a meeting "only, only if there is a reduction in the level of violence."

Israel sent tanks into the West Bank cities of Jenin and Jericho this week in raids that it said were intended to root out Palestinian militants after a wave of suicide bombings and other attacks on Israelis.

About 20 people have been killed in clashes since last Sunday, including two suicide bombers.