Palestinian militant, 17, killed during Israeli West Bank raid

Israeli forces have shot dead a 17-year-old Palestinian militant during a series of overnight detention raids in the occupied West Bank.

Residents said Othman Abu Kharj was killed in the village of Zababdeh, near Jenin, after the army entered, sparking confrontations with locals.

The army did not comment directly on his death, but said "explosive devices" were thrown by Palestinians.

Witnesses said troops shot the teenager near a house that had been surrounded.

The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad claimed Abu Kharj as a fighter in their "rapid response unit".

The army raids took place in at least 20 locations across the West Bank following the killing of three Israelis in separate attacks by Palestinian gunmen this week.

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pledged to "settle the score with the murderers and those who send them, near and far". He ultimately blamed the killings on Iran, which backs Islamic Jihad and the largest Palestinian militant group, Hamas.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club said more than 50 people were held overnight, accusing Israel of collective punishment and "vandalism" of families' homes.

Also during Monday night's raids, a Palestinian man was critically injured after being shot in the head by Israeli forces in a village near Nablus. Video appeared to show him unarmed and running towards an injured person before being hit by a single shot.

The West Bank is in the grip of the worst violence in two decades amid the absence of any political solution to the conflict, while Israel's military occupation is now into its 57th year.

Israel has the most ultranationalist government in its history in which politicians now routinely call for more strident military operations and further Israeli settlement expansion.

Meanwhile, internecine divisions have seen Palestinian political rivalries deepen and its official leadership lose control of key West Bank cities to militant groups.

On Saturday, a Palestinian gunman shot dead two Israelis - a father and son - at a car wash in the northern West Bank town of Hawara, the site of repeated violence by both armed Palestinians and mobs of Israeli settlers this year.

In the south of the West Bank on Monday, Palestinian gunmen fired at least 20 rounds at a car near Hebron, killing an Israeli woman from a nearby settlement, Batsheva Nigri. The male driver was seriously wounded while Ms Nigri's 12-year-old daughter was unharmed.

Last week, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy was left seriously wounded after being shot in the head by Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem. Police alleged he had tried to throw a petrol bomb at them during a raid.

The same day video showed an apparently unarmed Palestinian man said to suffer from mental health problems being shot and wounded by Israeli troops during a protest near Israel's separation barrier in Qalqilya. The army said it was investigating.

The violence is adding to a deteriorating political atmosphere and fuelling more aggressive rhetoric.

Following the attacks against Israelis, far-right online chat groups followed by hundreds of Israeli settlers called for "revenge" against Palestinians and the ethnic cleansing of the town of Hawara.

Pro-settler National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who leads the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, appeared to brief against his cabinet colleague, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, implying he was weak on security, while another MP from the party called on Mr Gallant to resign.

Meanwhile, Hamas praised Monday's attack near Hebron, calling it a "natural response" to Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and linked it to "threats" on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. The militant group Islamic Jihad said it sent a warning "that what is coming will be more severe and harsh".

In July, the army carried out its biggest military assault in years on Jenin refugee camp, in which 12 Palestinians, including militants and children, were killed.

An Israeli soldier also died during the raid, and on Tuesday the army said he was killed by fire from his fellow soldiers "following an incident of mistaken identification".

Tuesday's overnight raids saw troops detain two Palestinians suspected of carrying out Monday's attack near Hebron, the army said.

Mr Gallant said: "The terrorists who brutally murdered Batsheva Nigri will spend the rest of their days in prison. We will employ all means to strengthen our security. We will pursue and find our enemies."

At least 219 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and 31 Israelis have been killed this year.