Palestinian teenager shot by Israeli forces dies: ministry

A 16-year-old Palestinian died on Monday from his wounds almost two weeks after being shot in the head by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Montaser Mohammad Theeb Shawa, 16, died of his wounds, "sustained two weeks ago by the (Israeli) occupation bullets in Balata camp" in Nablus, the health ministry said.

The statement added that the "bullet penetrated his head".

Medical sources at the Rafidia hospital in Nablus said Shawa had been shot on 8 February.

The Israeli army said in a statement that "on the evening of February 8... armed gunmen fired at soldiers" who secured Jewish worshippers at Joseph's Tomb, a contested religious site near the Balata refugee camp.

The force "responded with live fire", the Israeli statement said, adding without elaborating that a person had been hit.

Israel has frequently claimed that civilians killed by its forces were armed, sometimes retracting such statements later.

Nablus has seen frequent clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants in recent months.

At least 50 Palestinians have been killed this year by Israeli forces, mostly during near-nightly raids in the illegally occupied West Bank.

Nine Israeli civilians, including three children, one Ukrainian civilian, and a police officer were killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.