Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian in W. Bank clash, militant group says

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, medics and a militant group said, in clashes that erupted after an arrest raid.

It was the second time in two days that Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian during a late-night incursion.

The Israeli military said its forces had apprehended two suspects in what it described as “counter-terrorism activities” in the city of Jenin. Subsequently it said dozens of Palestinians threw rocks and explosives devices and opened fire at the soldiers, who responded with live ammunition.

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the raid, saying the slain man, Ahmad Massad, had been summarily executed.

Video circulated on social media appeared to show at least one Palestinian firing a rifle in the street as more gunshots were heard. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group said in a statement that Massad was one of its members and that he had been killed “as he confronted the occupying forces”.

Israel has stepped up incursions in the West Bank following a string of recent deadly Palestinian and Arab attacks which killed 14 people in the country, including three police officers. The subsequent raids into Palestinian towns have sparked deadly clashes in which at least 17 Palestinians, including gunmen and civilians, have been killed by Israeli forces.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in 2014 and prospects of their revival remain dim. The Palestinian Authority, which has limited rule in the West Bank, has regularly condemned the Israeli raids on land they seek for an independent state.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Tomasz Janowski)