Israeli troops kill Palestinian in occupied West Bank

An Israeli soldier fires rubber bullets at Palestinian protesters during a weekly demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank, on February 1, 2019. AFP

A Palestinian was shot dead and another wounded on Monday in a clash at a military checkpoint in the north of the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said, without giving further details.

The Israeli army said its troops fired at "two assailants who hurled an explosive device" in near the checkpoint, near Jenin, but it did not confirm if either was hit. It said no soldiers were hurt.

The Palestinian health ministry named the dead man as Abdullah Tawalba, 19, and said in a statement that he was "hit by live bullets" and died in the Jenin hospital.

It called him a "martyr".

Officials at the hospital had earlier said his name was Abdallah Abu Talib, aged 20, and said he was killed in the Jalameh incident.

The West Bank has seen simmering violence since US-sponsored negotiations with Israel broke down in 2014.

There has been a spate of attacks in the territory in recent weeks against Israeli soldiers. Tensions have risen since US President Donald Trump moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May last year, effectively recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital despite international opposition and Israel's illegal occupation of the city's east.

Last week, Israeli forces shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian girl who tried to carry out a stabbing attack at a checkpoint between the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

Palestinian officials identified the dead girl as a resident of the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

Palestinians say assailants lash out in frustration at Israeli restrictions and the military's occupation.

Meanwhile in Gaza, Israel has said that it will begin a new phase of work on its border with the enclave. The barrier is set to stand six metres off the ground.

It is set to follow the 65-kilometre course of an underground barrier also under construction meant to neutralise the threat of cross-border tunnels.

Israel is accused of imposing a siege on Gaza that has left the territory virtually unlivable, restricting the territory's land, sea and air access to the detriment of the enclave's two million residents.