Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank

Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian youth at a roadblock in the occupied West Bank on Thursday evening, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Israeli troops seized the body of the Palestinian, whose name and age was not identified, but local media said he is from occupied East Jerusalem.

Israel's army spokesperson told AFP that "soldiers opened fire in the direction of a vehicle which was attempting to break through a military barrier in the Ramallah region, killing one of the occupants".

The Israeli army opened an investigation into the incident.

The West Bank is illegally occupied by Israeli according to UN Security Council resolutions. But since 1967, Israel has built settlements and seized Palestinian land, and built a separation wall and highways that connect settlements without passing through Palestinian villages.

In the past two weeks, Palestinian gunmen shot and killed three Israelis, two of them army soldiers, near Ramallah. Israel killed five Palestinians, the last was on 14 December in al-Jalazone refugee camp.

A baby was born prematurely and died after the mother, an Israeli settler, was wounded in a drive by shooting at the illegal Ofra settlement on 9 December.

Last Friday, Palestinians protested in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against Israeli military operations in towns of the West Bank.

Israeli troops and a military vehicle moved into downtown Ramallah, the seat of Palestinian Authority government, and was seen hundred metres away from both Al-Muqateh and the PA's president Mahmoud Abbas's residence.

Although arrests of Palestinians in night raids are almost a daily operation by the Israeli army, Israel has intensified its operations in search of Palestinian gunmen allegedly responsible for killing Israeli soldiers.