Third Palestinian killed by Israel army in 24 hours

Health ministry says 29-year-old was killed after violence erupted in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian man in the West Bank on Thursday, the health ministry said.

The man, Ayman Muhaisen, 29, was killed after violence erupted in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem.

He was the third Palestinian killed in 24 hours after a woman with a knife approached soldiers and was shot early on Wednesday and a man was killed in an Israeli raid in the northern West Bank later that day.

The Israeli security forces have stepped up their operations in the West Bank in recent months, carrying out almost daily raids to arrest suspects after a spate of deadly attacks in Israel.

The army said troops had entered Dheisheh to arrest a Palestinian "suspected of terrorist activities" and were met with a hail of petrol bombs and cement blocks. They responded with live rounds.

Late on Wednesday, Israeli troops entered the village of Yabad outside Jenin to demolish the home of the assailant in a March attack that killed five people in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak.

The health ministry said after that raid, a Palestinian man died in hospital in Jenin. He had been admitted in critical condition, having been "shot by live bullets in the chest and thigh".

Palestinian news agency Wafa said that six Palestinians were wounded in the Israeli raid.

The army said it had also arrested the "terrorist's father". It said it had informed the family of the shooter, Diaa Hamarsha, on April 17 of the demolition order against the family home.

Palestinians check damage to a building after the Israeli army demolished a house in the West Bank. EPA

Israel regularly destroys the homes of people it blames for attacks on Israelis.

The practice, which fuels tensions, is condemned by critics as a form of collective punishment. Israel insists it deters attacks.

On Wednesday morning, Israeli soldiers in the southern West Bank shot dead Ghofran Warasnah, 31, near Hebron after she "advanced" towards soldiers with a knife, the army said.

Nineteen people, mostly Israeli civilians, including 18 in Israel and a Jewish settler, have been killed in attacks by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs since late March.

Israeli security forces have responded with raids in Israel and the West Bank, particularly in the flashpoint northern district of Jenin. Three Israeli Arab attackers and a police commando died.

Thirty-eight Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, suspected militants but also non-combatants, including an Al Jazeera journalist who was covering a raid in Jenin and bystanders.