Palestinian killed by Israeli soldiers in West Bank

A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers on Monday night south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

"A Palestinian was killed after the (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire on him," the ministry said, without elaborating on the details.

The statement came shortly after the Israeli army said its soldiers had "neutralised" a knife-wielding assailant in the same area.

The Israeli army said the first results of an investigation showed the assailant had arrived in a car from Nablus and tried to stab a soldier who was manning a checkpoint.

"Another soldier responded by firing at the terrorist and neutralising him," it said in a statement, adding that no soldiers were injured in the attack.

The West Bank was hit by a bout of unrest in December as tensions eased in the Gaza Strip where more than 250 Palestinian protesters were killed in demonstrations last year.