AL-BUREIJ REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip, Dec. 1 — The parents of a 12-year- old Palestinian boy whose death became a symbol of an uprising for statehood are celebrating the birth of a brother, whom they named after their slain son.

Mohammed al-Durra was born on Friday in the Gaza Strip.

His namesake was killed in a shootout between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen at Gaza´s Netzarim junction in September 2000, when the revolt erupted there and in the West Bank.

Television footage of the boy´s last moments cowering behind his father Jamal, who was himself wounded, shocked the world.

Two years on, the Durra family hoped for better times.

´´This child is our hope to reach peace. I hope that (baby) Mohammed will be a message to the world which saw me trying to protect my son who was killed. We love life and need peace,´´ Jamal told Reuters on Sunday.

Palestinians say the troops shot 12-year-old Mohammed. A preliminary Israeli inquiry supported this, but military officials have since backed off and blamed Palestinian gunfire.

´´We had seven children and now we again have seven children,´´ mother Amal Durra said.

The family lives in a three-room home with a corrugated iron roof in the Gaza refugee camp of al-Bureij. (Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited 12/01/02)