Israeli army kills Palestinian militant in West Bank

A Palestinian militant has been killed by Israeli soldiers who were staging an incursion into the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank.

The victim, Hussamah Saleh, 23, was a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is loosely affiliated to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah Party.

A Palestinian security source said three other Palestinians were wounded in the exchange of gunfire with Israeli troops.

The Israeli army has confirmed the incident.

"Soldiers saw an armed man and opened fire, wounding or killing him," a spokesman told AFP.

The latest death brings to 5,408 the number of fatalities since the 2000 outbreak of the Palestinian uprising, the large majority of them Palestinians.

- AFP