Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank - ministry

A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces on Sunday near a security barrier in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The ministry identified the man killed as Nabil Ghanem from the West Bank city of Nablus. Israel's army told AFP it was looking into the incident.

Thousands of Palestinians cross into Israel from the West Bank illegally through holes in the barrier, much of which is a towering wall but is also made up of fences prone to being damaged. Many work as day laborers and earn salaries much higher than those in the West Bank.

While incidents like Sunday's are relatively rare, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man last month under similar circumstances.

Israelis have been keenly focused on the illegal entry of Palestinians over recent months following a spate of attacks by Palestinians who snuck into Israel before carrying out killing sprees.
Authorities, who have long turned a blind eye, have pledged to seal the breached parts and replace the fences with concrete walls.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians also cross legally into Israel using hard-to-obtain permits.

Israel says the barrier helped stop a wave of suicide bombings and other attacks by Palestinians who slipped into the country during the 2000-2005 uprising and is still needed to prevent deadly violence.

But the barrier also repeatedly juts into the West Bank and the Palestinians view it as an illegal land grab. The International Court of Justice in 2004 said the barrier was contrary to international law.