Israeli troops shoot and kill Palestinian in West Bank clash

RAMALLAH — Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the military and a Palestinian hospital official said.

Residents of the Deheishe refugee camp in Bethlehem said Palestinians threw stones at Israeli soldiers who had entered the area and the troops opened fire.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the Palestinians hurled rocks, blocks and firebombs at the troops, wounding one soldier. "The force, feeling imminent danger to their lives, responded with fire toward an instigator," she added.

A Palestinian hospital official identified the dead man as 20-year-old Jihad Al Jaafari.

The Palestinians want to establish a state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, territories Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem in a move unrecognised internationally and in 2005 pulled out of Gaza, now controlled by Islamist Hamas and under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

The Israeli military remains in charge of the West Bank, allowing the Palestinians limited self-rule in certain areas, including the major urban centres.

US-brokered peace talks between the sides broke down in April. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has since stepped up unilateral moves at the United Nations towards Palestinian statehood.