West Bank village buries Palestinian killed by Israeli settlers

Residents of the occupied West Bank village of Aqraba buried a 24-year-old Palestinian on Sunday who was killed by Israeli settlers the day before, the mayor told AFP.

The man was killed during an attack involving firearms that lasted half an hour and left eight other people injured, Mayor Salah Jaber said.

"It happened very close to the homes of residents. That's why they (came out) to defend their area, their homes and their farms", Jaber said.

"The shooting was clearly intended to kill. The injuries were extremely severe, even to the limbs -- one person was killed instantly", Jaber said, identifying the dead man as 24-year-old Muin Asfar.

Jaber said that although the Israeli army was present, "it was supporting the settlers more than protecting the Palestinians".

Contacted by AFP, the military said that it was looking into the incident.

Fouad Nafaah, director of the hospital in the nearby city of Nablus, told AFP that Asfar was already dead when he arrived at the facility.

An AFP photographer reported that relatives had come to the morgue to retrieve Asfar's body, which was wrapped in a Palestinian flag.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, since Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip, now entering its 21^st month.

Since then, Israeli troops and settlers have killed at least 967 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures.