Israeli forces shoot 2-year-old Palestinian child in the head in West Bank

A Palestinian child, aged two, was shot in the head by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, sources said, adding that the child's father was also shot in the arm.

The incident took place in Nabi Saleh, a prominent Palestinian village in Ramallah province.

Israeli soldiers opened fire on a vehicle at Nabi Saleh's entrance, wounding the child and father, Palestinian activist Bilal Tamimi was cited as saying by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Tamimi said that at the time the duo were in front of their home, which is located by a military checkpoint. They were taken to a hospital in the illegal Israeli settlement Nevei Tsof.

The two-year-old was then transferred to a hospital in Israel and the father to one in Ramallah.

The seriousness of their conditions was unknown.

Israel was keeping a metal gate at Nabi Saleh's entrance shut and its forces were raiding neighbourhoods in the village, Tamimi said on Thursday.

There were also confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians, which saw one Palestinian injured by rubber-coated bullets.

Tamimi was shot in the hand by a rubber bullet while using his phone to capture what was happening. The activist was taken to hospital.

It came amid a period of deadly violence towards Palestinians, with Israeli forces and settlers having killed more than 160 Palestinians so far this year.