Israeli army shoots dead Palestinian in West Bank: health ministry

RAMALLAH: Israeli forces shot dead an 18-year-old Palestinian on Saturday near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Musaab Nafal died "from severe wounds sustained by occupation (Israeli) bullets near the village of Sinjil", the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli army said soldiers responded to "a report about stone hurling toward a highway" that had caused damage "to a number of cars".

Soldiers "responded with fire toward the perpetrators. Hits were identified," it said in a statement.

The incident came four days after Israelis went to the polls for general elections.

Violence has soared between Israel and the Palestinians in recent months, with near daily West Bank raids by Israeli forces following a rise in anti-Israeli attacks.

On Thursday, Israeli forces martyred four Palestinians, including an alleged attacker in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

About 475,000 Jewish settlers currently live in the West Bank in communities considered illegal by most of the international community, alongside some 2.9 million Palestinians.