RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli troops shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian male during clashes in the occupied West Bank late on Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The Israeli military said troops had fired towards Palestinians hurling Molotov cocktails at them near the Palestinian village of Beita, south of Nablus.
“The troops operated to stop the suspects by firing towards them,” an Israeli military spokeswoman said, adding that the incident would be investigated.
The military has been searching in the area for Palestinian gunmen who opened fire on Sunday at a nearby intersection, killing one Israeli and seriously wounding another.
Residents of Beita and the nearby village of Odala say there have been clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops near the villages’ entrances the past several nights.
A second Palestinian was shot in the back during the clashes on Wednesday and was being treated in hospital, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Tensions have been high in the West Bank and Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, peaking with several days of clashes near Jerusalem’s Old City between Israeli police and Palestinians over access to a popular night-time meeting spot.
(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Alistair Bell)
