Israeli forces kill Palestinian in West Bank clash, Palestinian health ministry says

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian during a clash in the occupied West Bank as troops prepared to demolish the home of a man accused of killing an Israeli, the Palestinian Health Ministry and witnesses said on Monday.

The fighting erupted late on Sunday in the village of Silat al-Harithiya, home to a Palestinian who has been detained and charged with the killing, in a shooting attack on a car, near the Jewish outpost of Homesh on Dec. 16. Witnesses said soldiers and Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire after the troops arrived to carry out the demolition. The Israeli military said it would destroy a floor of the home where the assailant had lived.

Hundreds of Palestinians threw rocks and petrol bombs at the soldiers, who responded with “riot dispersal equipment and also fired at gunmen they had spotted”, the Israeli military said, without confirming the fatality. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, one Palestinian was killed and 10 were wounded.

Israel says demolitions carried out at assailants’ homes can help deter future assaults. Rights groups have denounced the measure, which often targets homes where other family members also live, as collective punishment.