Ramallah (Reuters) – Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager during clashes in the occupied West Bank on Friday, Palestinian officials said.
The Israeli army said that dozens of Palestinians in a town near Bethlehem hurled rocks towards soldiers “who responded with riot dispersal means and shooting into the air.”
“Suspects continued to hurl rocks towards the soldiers, posing a life threat,” the army said. “The soldiers responded using live ammunition. Hits were identified.”
It added that the incident was being reviewed.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 16-year-old was shot dead during the clash.
Earlier, Israel’s military said it arrested a suspected militant and confiscated weapons in a raid in the city of Jenin that led to clashes with Palestinian fighters.
Israeli forces said they shot at suspects who hurled explosive devices at them. Palestine TV said the soldiers wounded two people, including a 14-year-old boy. It said the forces blocked the movement of ambulances and conducted arrests before withdrawing.
Israeli-Palestinian violence has surged this year, with frequent military raids and violence by Israeli settlers amid a spate of Palestinian attacks. More than 90 Palestinians and at least 19 Israelis and foreigners have been killed since January.
Israel captured the West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of a future independent state, in the 1967 Middle East war. It has since built large settlements there while U.S.-sponsored statehood talks have stalled.
