The Palestinian health ministry said on Thursday that Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank a day earlier, while the Israeli military said an off-duty soldier fired at a stone-thrower.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry said 28-year-old Alaa Khaled Mohammed Sbeih "was shot and killed" by Israeli forces on Wednesday night near the village of Tayasir in the northern West Bank.
The military said troops were dispatched to the area on Wednesday "following a report of an incident between Palestinians and Israeli civilians, which included hurling rocks," adding that an Israeli and a Palestinian civilian were injured in the incident and taken to hospital.
"From initial inquiry, it emerged that an off-duty soldier fired toward a Palestinian after he threw stones at the Israeli civilians," the statement said, adding that the incident was under review.
The military often uses the term off-duty soldier to refer to Israeli settlers in the West Bank, who also serve in the army and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty.
Violence in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, has surged since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas which triggered the war in Gaza.
It has continued despite a ceasefire in Gaza in effect since October.
According to an AFP tally based on figures from the Palestinian health ministry, at least 1,057 Palestinians -- including many militants as well as civilians -- have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.
At least 46 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in the same territory in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli data.
