Israeli soldiers kill alleged Palestinian gunman in West Bank

[January 29, 2014]  JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian on Wednesday who the military said had opened fire on their position near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Confirming the man's death, a Palestinian medic identified him as Muhammad Mubarak, 21, a laborer from Jalazoun refugee camp near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, north of Jerusalem.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said a Palestinian gunman was shot after attacking troops stationed near the settlement of Ofra.

"The soldiers responded immediately to eliminate the imminent threat to their lives and fired at the terrorist, identifying a hit," she said.

Violence in the West Bank has increased in recent months, and at least 19 Palestinians and four Israelis have been killed in the occupied territory since U.S.-brokered peace talks resumed in July.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and Noah Browning and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; writing by Jeffrey Heller; editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

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