Rhino: Agencies – An Israeli civilian was shot dead in the Palestinian town of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, the Israeli army said.

Troops arrived in the area shortly after the incident and are investigating what happened, the army added. It did not provide further details.

There was no comment from the Palestinian side.

Israel’s public broadcaster, Radio Kan, reported that the man was shot dead after he drove his car into Qalqilya. It added that his car was later set on fire.

Violence was already on the rise in the West Bank before the outbreak of the war in Gaza following the 7 October attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on southern Israel.

But the violence has intensified as the Israeli army has stepped up raids, as well as settler violence and Palestinian street attacks.

Israeli police said on Friday that their forces shot dead two Palestinian militants in a shootout during a raid in the occupied West Bank.