Israeli forces kill Palestinian in West Bank clashes: Palestinian news agency

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man and wounded three others in West Bank clashes early Wednesday, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The man killed was identified as 21-year-old Ahmad Massad, from the village of Burqin in the northern West Bank.

He was shot in the head, a hospital official told WAFA.

The Israeli army told AFP it was "conducting counterterrorism activity in the city of Jenin," a stronghold of Palestinian armed factions in the West Bank.

Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians are common in the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel since 1967, but recent weeks have seen a surge in violence.

Massad is among 26 Palestinians and Israeli Arabs killed since late March, among them several assailants, according to an AFP tally.

During the same period, 14 Israelis were killed in several attacks.

The Israeli army has since increased its activity and raids in the West Bank, focusing on the city of Jenin and its refugee camp, where there are active fighters from several armed groups.

Violent clashes have also recently rocked the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, sparking fears of another conflict after last year's 11-day war between Israel and armed groups in the Gaza Strip.