Israel army slays Palestinian man in West Bank clash

A Palestinian man was shot by Israeli soldiers on Saturday and later died after a clash with Jewish settlers near the West Bank city of Nablus, medics and security sources said. 

Palestinian security sources said the clash was started by the settlers, after which the army intervened and fired at a group of Palestinians. 

Amir Omar Shahada, 23, was shot in the chest in the village of Urif, said Ghassan Douglas, the Palestinian Authority official in charge of monitoring settlement activity in the northern West Bank, Haaretz reported. A 16-year-old Palestinian boy was shot in the leg, Douglas added.

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that a young Palestinian man who was rushed to a hospital in Nablus in critical condition died of his wounds, Haaretz said.

The Israeli army said Palestinians from Urif had approached Yitzhar settlement, sparking "a confrontation between Palestinian and Israeli civilians". 

As soldiers arrived, "a riot was instigated, during which troops used riot dispersal means and fired live rounds," a military spokesman told AFP.

On Friday, a Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank city of Hebron and at least four others were wounded in clashes along Gaza's border with Israel.

Tensions have risen since US President Donald Trump's recognition in December of Jerusalem as Israel's capital - a decision that has infuriated Palestinians.

Israel seized mainly Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

At least 31 Palestinians and two Israelis have been killed since Trump's announcement.