Palestinian killed by Israeli forces after West Bank arrest raid

A Palestinian man has been killed during an armed confrontation with Israeli forces in the northern occupied West Bank, security and medical sources said.

Palestinian sources identified the man as Jamil al-Kayyal, 31, saying he died on Monday as a result of bullet shots to his head following a gunfight in the Ras al-Ain area in the city of Nablus.

Online videos appeared to show Kayyal lying on the ground, bleeding, after the forces left the area.

According to Israeli police, special forces officers backed up by soldiers had arrested a suspect in Nablus and seized a semi-automatic weapon.

“When the special forces finished their operation and exited the site, rioters hurled explosive devices at them from a short range, risking their lives,” police said in a statement.

“The forces responded with fire toward the attackers, and appeared to have hit one of them, who was evacuated from the scene by Red Crescent” medics, the statement said.

Palestinian news agency Maan said two other Palestinian men were wounded after Israeli vehicles struck them while retreating from Nablus.

The Israeli military often conducts arrest raids in the occupied West Bank – even in territories that are under control of the Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognised entity that has limited autonomy in parts of the area.

Excluding annexed East Jerusalem, about 475,000 Israeli settlers live in heavily fortified communities in the occupied West Bank, which is home to more than 2.8 million Palestinians.