BREAKING NEWS

Palestinian, 85, dies after clashes with Israelis, witnesses say

An 85-year oldPalestinian died on Thursday after inhaling tear gas fired bythe Israeli army to disperse local protesters landed in his homein the West Bank, local eyewitnesses told Reuters.

He is the first Palestinian casualty of the conflict withIsrael in 2014 following a violent clash with soldiers on theoutskirts of the village of Kufr Qaddoum near Nablus in thenorthern West Bank.

An Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment butwas checking for details of the clash.

Youths in the village were on Wednesday celebrating the 49thanniversary of the founding of the Fatah movement, the party ofPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, when the clash erupted.

Villagers told Reuters the soldiers fired dozens of tear gascanisters at them, one of which entered Saeed Jaser Ali's home.He was taken to a local hospital, where he died early onThursday.

Ali's death comes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry isexpected to return to the region on Thursday to aid peace talksbetween the Israelis and Palestinians he helped revive in Julyafter a three-year hiatus.