Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian teenager in occupied Bethlehem

Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian teenager during a raid in the occupied West Bank overnight, the Palestinian health ministry said on Monday.

Arkan Mizher, aged 15, was shot in the chest during clashes in Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank, the ministry said.

His funeral was due to take place later Monday.

The Israeli army said its forces had entered the camp and arrested two people suspected of "terror activity".

"During the operation, a violent riot was instigated in which Palestinians hurled rocks and threw firebombs and grenades at (Israeli) soldiers," the army said in a statement.

Soldiers fired live rounds at the protesters, the statement added.

The camp is in a part of the occupied West Bank supposedly under full Palestinian control but the Israeli army regularly carries out raids in such areas.

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.

Earlier this month Israeli forces injured 35 people and arrested 10 others as they began to demolish their Bedouin village in a strategic part of the occupied West Bank.

The soldiers beat and dragged a local woman as she attempted to stop them from razing the village of Khan al-Ahmar, footage of the incident shows.

"The soldiers brutally attacked the residents of Khan al-Ahmar and protesters as they tried to prevent the demolition of their homes," one villager told the Palestinian-Israeli news outlet.

Agencies contributed to this report.