Israeli army raids West Bank Palestinian camp after soldier death

Clashes erupted after the Israeli army raided a Palestinian refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday, reports said, in an apparent hunt for suspects invovled in the killing of a soldier earlier this week.

Dozens of Israeli troops entered the Amari Refugee Camp in Ramallah in the early hours of Monday, closing off all the entrances, AFP journalists said.

At least 13 Palestinians were injured during the raid as clashes broke out, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, with soldiers firing tear gas and bullets.

Residents said a number of Palestinians were arrested, though there was no immediate confirmation or statement from the army.

Israeli forces later withdrew from the camp.

It came days after an Israeli soldier died during a raid inside the camp.

Sergeant Ronen Lubarsky, 20, of the Duvdevan special forces unit, was struck on the head by a stone block thrown during an arrest raid Thursday and died early on Saturday.

Israeli media said the block was a granite slab dropped from a third-floor window.

Those responsible were not arrested at the time.

Amari is located inside Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority, in an area theoretically under the full control of the Palestinian government.

The camp is home to around 6,000 Palestinians according to the United Nations, is a regular flashpoint where Israeli raids have sparked fierce clashes in the past.

The death comes after weeks of major protests that took place across the Palestinian territories, notably on May 14 as the US transferred its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

Smaller protests took place on May 15, which was the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their land during the war surrounding the creation of Israel.

Israeli troops massacred more than 60 Palestinians along the Gaza border over the two days, promtping international condemnation for its "disproportionate" use of violence against peaceful protesters.

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967, committing various crimes against Palestinian civilians.

More than 600,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.