Sharjah 24 – AFP: Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian during a clash in the West Bank on Thursday, the third Palestinian killed in the occupied territory in 24 hours, the health ministry said.
The violence erupted in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem, a ministry statement said, identifying the dead man as Ayman Muhaisen, 29.
He was the third Palestinian killed in 24 hours after a woman approaching soldiers with a knife was shot early Wednesday, and a man was killed in an Israeli raid in the northern West Bank later that day.
The Israeli security forces have stepped up their operations in the West Bank in recent months, carrying out almost daily raids to arrest suspects after a spate of deadly attacks inside Israel.
Late Wednesday, Israeli troops mounted an incursion into the village of Yabad outside Jenin to demolish the home of the assailant in a March attack that killed five people in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak.
The health ministry said that after that raid a Palestinian man died in hospital in Jenin. He had been admitted in critical condition, having been "shot by live bullets in the chest and thigh".
Palestinian news agency Wafa said that six Palestinians were wounded in the Israeli raid.
Israel regularly destroys the homes of individuals it blames for attacks on Israelis.
The practice, which often fuels tensions, has been condemned by critics as a form of collective punishment.
On Wednesday morning, Israeli soldiers in the southern West Bank shot dead Ghofran Warasnah, 31, near Hebron after she "advanced" towards soldiers with a knife, the army said.