Israeli forces kill Palestinian in West Bank

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian on Wednesday in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said, following what the Israeli army said was a drive-by shooting at a military post.

The Palestinian Civil Affairs Ministry said "a citizen was killed, after being shot by the occupation (Israeli forces) near the town of Silwad" in the central West Bank.

The dead man was named as 32-year-old Muhajid Mahmoud Hamed by the Palestinian health ministry.

Media coverage: "A photo of Palestinian freedom fighter Mujahed Al-Najjar, who was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces today after carrying out a shooting operation at the Israeli illegal settlement of 'Ofra' near Silwad town, east of Ramallah." pic.twitter.com/IDA8trvmZ7

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 7, 2022

Israel's army said soldiers launched a manhunt after a drive-by shooting targeted a military post next to Ofra, an Israeli settlement south of Silwad.

"During the pursuit, the suspect spotted the soldiers, got out of the vehicle and fired at them. The soldiers responded with live fire and neutralised the assailant," an army statement said.

An Israeli military spokesman was unable to confirm to AFP that troops had shot dead a Palestinian.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw Israeli forces standing over a body metres (yards) from a white van.

Israel has killed and injured hundreds of Palestinians this year in a series of deadly raids in the West Bank, making 2022 the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied territory since 2005, according to the United Nations.

A US State Department spokesman said Friday that Washington was "deeply concerned by the intensifying violence in the West Bank".

Israel has occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in violation of international law since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

An estimated 475,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank in illegal settlements alongside some 2.9 million Palestinians.