Ramallha: Palestinian authorities reported on Saturday that an Israeli soldier shot and killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank during what the army described as a "car ramming attempt" close to Nablus.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that Fawzi Mukhalifa, 18, "was killed by the occupation (Israeli) bullets in the town of Sebastia" late on Friday.
Within hours, Israeli forces in the West Bank had killed a second Palestinian.

According to the army, soldiers in the northern West Bank town responded to "a car ramming attempt" by opening fire on the suspects inside the car. The driver was taken out.

Also Read: Zelensky dismisses Ukraine's ambassador to the UK following complaints

The army claimed that a second "suspect" who had been in Mukhalifa's vehicle was wounded and taken into custody.

The fatal incident occurred as tensions in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War in 1967, were on the rise.

Both a rise in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities as well as a number of attacks by Palestinians on Israeli targets have occurred in the region.

Mohammed Al-Bayed, 17, passed away earlier on Friday, according to the Palestinian health ministry, who said it happened close to Ramallah.

Also Read: UK councils request more time from the government to house Afghan refugees

According to the report, Bayed was accused of attacking Israeli border police, but died as a result of wounds he received from live ammunition fired by Israeli forces in the village of Umm Safa.

A "violent disturbance" had occurred, the force claimed in a statement, "during which suspects threw stones and explosives" at Israeli forces.

A security guard shot at a suspect who threw a bomb in response, the statement said, adding that "a hit was detected."
According to an AFP count compiled from official sources from both sides, violence related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has killed at least 198 Palestinians, 27 Israelis, one Ukrainian, and one Italian this year.

Also Read: USS Canberra: First Navy warship to be ordered by the US in a foreign port

On the Palestinian side, there are both combatants and civilians, and on the Israeli side, there are mainly civilians and three Arab minorities.
Nearly three million Palestinians reside in the West Bank, along with 490,000 Israelis who reside in settlements that are prohibited by international law.