RAMALLA, WEST BANK (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers shot dead an 18-year-old Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, health officials said.
The Israeli military said soldiers fired at people who threw rocks at Israeli vehicles on the road, “confirmed hits”.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said a teenager had died and a second Palestinian was injured in Israeli shootings.
Violence in areas where Palestinians seek statehood has surged in recent months after Israel launched a crackdown in response to a spate of deadly street attacks in the city.
On Thursday, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem, including a man accused by police of stabbing an Islamic Jihad militant and a policeman.
The security situation was one of the factors that contributed to the victory of the far-right in Tuesday’s Israeli elections, which put former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on track to return to power.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed concern over the escalating violence in calls with outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday.
Reported by Ali Sawafta and Maayan Lubell.Edited by Andrew Havens
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