Israeli forces kill Palestinian youth in the West Bank -health officials

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers fatally shot a Palestinian 18-year-old in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, health officials said, the latest in a string of deadly incidents in the territory.

The Israeli military said its soldiers had opened fire at people throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles driving down a road and that “hits were confirmed”.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said the teenager had been killed and a second Palestinian wounded by the Israeli gunfire.

Violence in territories where Palestinians seek statehood has surged in recent months after Israel launched a crackdown in response to a spate of lethal street attacks in its cities.

On Thursday, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem, including an Islamic Jihad militant and a man accused by police of stabbing an officer.

The security situation was among factors contributing to far-right gains in an Israeli election on Tuesday that put former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on track to return to power.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his concern over spiralling violence in a call with outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday and with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Andrew Heavens)