Israeli troops shoot dead Palestinian fleeing after crash in West Bank

A Palestinian citizen of Israel was shot dead on Tuesday by Israeli soldiers while fleeing a car crash at a hitchhiking stop in the illegally occupied West Bank.

Israel's military said the shooting happened near Ariel, an illegal Israeli settlement south of the Palestinian city of Nablus.

No other injuries were reported and Israeli officials said the crash was still being investigated. It was not for now being labelled an attack.

The Israeli army claimed in a statement that the driver was being pursued in a stolen car when he crashed at the hitch-hiking spot, and then attempted to flee on foot and was shot by soldiers in the area.

It did not provide details on the driver's identity, but official Palestinian news agency WAFA identified him as a Palestinian citizen of Israel.

It was not clear if anyone was present during the incident at the hitch-hiking stop, one of the designated locations for hailing a ride common near illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Palestinian citizens of Israel live mainly inside the Green Line, a border that separates the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip from Israel. Their population is estimated at 1.7 million.

Palestinians have carried several car-ramming attacks against Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank in recent months. Settlers have carried out violent attacks against Palestinians as well as damaging their land and property.

Israeli security forces are accused of using disproportionate violence in regular raids on Palestinian villages in the West Bank.

Palestinians and human rights groups have also accused Israeli forces of carrying out field executions during alleged car-ramming incidents instead of arresting and putting people on trial.