The child was named as Absalam Sumrin by Ramallah hospital director Hosni Atari, who said he had been shot through the chest by a heavy machine-gun bullet fired by a tank.

Palestinian police said there were no clashes reported in the area at the time, and said witnesses had said it was an armoured personnel carrier which fired on the child.

The police said an Israeli army curfew was in place at the time, but said there appeared to be no other motive for the shooting.

The latest death brings to 2,502 the number of people killed as a direct result of the two-year-old Palestinian uprising, including 1,845 Palestinians and 607 Israelis, the remainder being foreign nationals.

str-jh/mb Nampa-AFP WEB story ENDS (NAMPA 190854)

World News Headlines Of The Last 48 Hours

•  Thai police to deport Glitter
•  Baghdad statues being pieced together again
•  British stage operas to hit Japan
•  Brazil celebrates silky Bossa Nova music
•  147 killed in plane crash at Madrid airport
•  Mugabe to open new Zimbabwe parliament Tuesday: official
•  Russian trucks trickle out of Georgia
•  US tracking citizens' border crossings: report
•  'Boobs on bikes' parade
•  Poland, US sign deal on missile shield
•  Sarkozy's Afghan policy questioned
•  Twin car bombings in Algeria kill 54
•  McCain takes 5-point lead over Obama: poll
•  Five from US held as China ups scrutiny
•  Suicide attack at Algerian police academy kills 43
•  Puerto Rico corpse kept upright for 3-day wake
•  Septuptlet mom 'can't cope'
•  French paras ambushed near Kabul
•  Russians take prisoners in Georgian port of Poti
•  When is a coup not a coup?
•  'Elite' HIV wife may hold secret to AIDS vaccine
•  Avril's concert too sexy
•  Phil Collins trumps Paul McCartney in Mega-Divorce
•  Pakistan hospital blast kills 23