Israeli troops kill Palestinian throwing rocks in West Bank: army

Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian who had been hurling rocks at cars on a highway in the occupied West Bank on Monday, a military spokeswoman said.

She said troops shouted at a group of Palestinians throwing stones on a main road near Palestinian villages and Jewish settlements to halt and then fired warning shots.

"Once they didn't comply they (the soldiers) responded to the threat with direct fire, wounding one of the attackers," the spokeswoman said, adding that the army had opened an investigation into the incident.

The Palestinian was treated at the scene but died of his wounds, the spokeswoman said. He was not immediately identified.

Violence in Israel and the Palestinian Territories has surged in the past few months. Attacks by Palestinians have claimed 11 Israeli lives, and 16 Palestinians, including several of the assailants, have been killed.