Hundreds gathered Wednesday in a village of the Israeli-occupied West Bank to mourn a young man who the Palestinian health ministry said was killed by Israeli settler gunfire.
Friends and relatives of 20-year-old Said al-Naasan, killed Tuesday in Al-Mughayyir, carried his body through the village wrapped in a Palestinian flag with his head covered by a traditional keffiyeh.
The Ramallah-based health ministry said in a statement that Naasan was killed "by settler gunfire", while the Israeli military said an off-duty soldier had fired shots after Palestinians had thrown stones.
The village's mayor, Amin Abu Aliya, told AFP that residents on Tuesday evening saw "several armed settlers herding cattle near homes on the eastern side (of the village)".
"They opened fire on residents there, critically wounding the martyr, who later died from his wounds," Abu Aliya added.
In response to a question from AFP, the Israeli military said the incident occurred during "a violent confrontation in which a dozen Palestinians hurled rocks at Israeli civilians in a pasture in the area of Al-Mughayyir", using a term it usually uses to refer to settlers.
An off-duty soldier at the scene "fired a number of shots into the air after the suspects continued to approach, and hits were identified," it added.
Israeli settlers in the West Bank also serve in the army, and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
In a separate incident, the Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces shot dead a man in his 20s in the West Bank town of Anza on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Israeli military said that during "operational activity in the area of Anza, a terrorist hurled an explosive device towards (Israeli) soldiers operating in the area."
"The soldiers responded with fire and eliminated the terrorist," it said, adding there were no injuries to Israeli troops.
Violence in the West Bank has soared since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
Since then, Israeli troops and settlers have killed at least 981 Palestinians in the West Bank, including many gunmen, according to health ministry figures.
Over the same period, at least 36 Israelis, including security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official figures.
