Israeli troops killed a 19-year-old Palestinian in a pre-dawn raid in the West Bank Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, as violence in the occupied territory showed no sign of any letup.
Durgham al-Akhras was killed in a clash with Israeli soldiers raiding Aqabat Jaber refugee camp near the city of Jericho to carry out arrests, the ministry said.
The Israeli army said "explosive devices" were hurled at troops, who "responded with live fire toward one of the suspects and neutralised him," a statement said.
Separately, the Palestinian health ministry announced the death of Yasser Mussa, 29, who was wounded during an Israeli raid on Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank late on Tuesday.
In total, the raid by Israeli troops backed by a drone killed four Palestinians, the ministry said.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, armed wing of the Islamist Hamas movement that controls the Gaza Strip, said two of those killed in Jenin were members.
Hundreds of mourners attended the funerals of the dead on Wednesday.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its troops routinely carry out incursions into areas such as Jenin, which are nominally under the Palestinian Authority's security control.
Violence linked to the Israel-Palestinian conflict has surged since early last year, particularly in the West Bank.
At least 238 Palestinians have been killed so far this year in incidents linked to the conflict.
The bloodshed has also seen 32 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources on both sides.
They include, on the Palestinian side, combatants as well as civilians and, on the Israeli side, mainly civilians including minors and three members of the Arab minority.
In recent days, unrest has also surged in the Gaza Strip, with Palestinians holding protests that have turned violent along the border with Israel.
Palestinians have thrown rocks and explosives towards Israeli troops guarding the border fence, who have responded with tear gas and gunfire.
On Tuesday, one protester was killed by "occupation bullets," said the health ministry in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas.
The Israeli army said it had used "riot dispersal means and sniper fire".
The violence in Gaza follows an Israeli announcement late on Sunday that it would keep the Erez border crossing closed. The crossing remained shut on Wednesday, Palestinian officials said.
Thousands of Palestinian workers from Gaza have been prevented from entering Israel by the closure, which an Israeli NGO, Gisha, condemned as "collective punishment".
Israel has issued work permits to some 18,500 Gazans, COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, said on Tuesday.
© Agence France-Presse
Sign In