Palestinian shot dead in Jewish settlement in West Bank

A Palestinian was shot dead Friday inside a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank that he infiltrated overnight, sources from both sides said.

Khaled Maher Nofal, 34, was gunned down by settlers, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The Israeli army said he was "neutralised" by a guard in a farm that he had infiltrated near the Palestinian town of Qalqilyah and that no weapons were found in his possession.

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"At 03:45 (am), a terrorist entered the Sde Efraim farm by vehicle... and pulled over adjacent to the entrance of the farm owner's house," it said in a statement.

"The terrorist ran out of the car towards the house, shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Greatest) while attempting to break into the house," the army said.

It said the man attacked an unarmed guard and was "neutralised" by settlers.

The military said soldiers later  entered the intruder's village of Ras Karkar, near Ramallah, to carry out searches.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, human rights groups say.

Nearly thirty years after the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Israel, most of the West Bank remains under Israeli control, with the Palestinian Authority exercising authority in major West Bank cities.

More than 600,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are considered illegal constructions under international law.

Israeli forces and settlers routinely harass Palestinians in the occupied territories by harming and killing civilians, demolishing homes, poisoning livestock, vandalising property and committing other forms of violence.