Israeli forces kill Palestinian in new West Bank raid

• Israeli army calls terms operation its latest "counterterrorism" raid.
• Slain man identified as Ahmad Massad, 18, from Burqin village.
• More than a thousand people gathered for Massad’s funeral in Burqin.

JENIN: Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank flashpoint city of Jenin Wednesday, in what the army alleged its latest "counterterrorism" raid following a series of clashes in Israel since late March.

The army alleged that during the operation at Jenin’s refugee camp, troops used "live ammunition" after being targeted with gunfire and explosives by Palestinian "rioters".

The Palestinian health ministry identified the man killed as Ahmad Massad, 18, from Burqin village in the north of the occupied West Bank. He was shot in the head, a hospital official told the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The army said 12 people were arrested in the overnight raids at several West Bank locations. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club group put the number of arrests at 17.

More than a thousand people gathered for Massad’s funeral in Burqin, and masked gunmen fired volleys into the air as his body was taken from his family home.

Israeli security forces have stepped up operations in recent weeks in the West Bank — particularly around Jenin, where there are alleged active fighters from several Palestinian armed groups.

Raad Hazem — who killed three Israelis in a shooting spree in a Tel Aviv nightlife district last month, before being shot dead after a massive man-hunt — hailed from Jenin’s refugee camp.

Gunman’s home targeted

During the overnight operation, the army said it also delivered a demolition notice to Hazem’s family home.

The destruction of assailants’ homes is a common Israeli practice and is condemned by critics as an illegal form of collective punishment.

The Tel Aviv shooter’s father Fathi Hazem and brother Hamam are both wanted by Israel.

Hours after the demolition notice was handed over, the father appeared in a video that then circulated widely in Palestinian media.

He accused Israel of labelling all Palestinian youths as "terrorists" and told a small crowd, speaking at an unknown location, that "we will defeat them, God willing, and soon".

Hamam Hazem told AFP earlier this month that the family had no prior knowledge of Raad’s plans for the Tel Aviv attack.