Israeli soldier kills Palestinian teenager in West Bank confrontation

AL MUGHAYYER, West Bank (Reuters) – An Israeli soldier shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian during a confrontation near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Friday, Palestinian officials said, and the army said its troops had opened fire to protect motorists from rioters.

Witnesses said the incident, east of the hub city of Ramallah, also involved face-offs in open fields between settlers, at least one of whom was armed, and Palestinians, with some on either side lobbing rocks at the other.

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the teenager's killing as an "execution". A second Palestinian was shot and wounded in the incident, health officials and witnesses said.

The Israeli military said troops fired to disperse hundreds of Palestinians who had burned tires and hurled rocks at a road leading to Kochav Hashachar settlement. "We are aware of reports of a Palestinian that was killed," it said in a statement.

Israel's Channel 14 TV said a settler was also injured and his dog killed during the confrontations with the Palestinians.

Most countries regard the settlements as illegal. They stand on land captured by Israel in a 1967 war and where Palestinians want to build a future state. Israel disputes that the settlements are illegal or that they would obstruct Palestinian statehood. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks stalled in 2014.

(Writing by Dan Williams and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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