Palestinians carry the body of 19-year-old Labib Damidi, who was shot in an overnight attack in the village of Huwara, during his funeral in the Israeli-occupied West Bank village on October 6, 2023. AFP
"Labib Mohammad Lahib Damidi, 19, was shot in the heart by Israeli settlers," the ministry said in a statement.
The Israeli occupation army said in a statement that a suspect had been shot by soldiers.
On Thursday night, residents in the town attempted to fend off an attack carried out by dozens of settlers against them under the protection of Israeli forces, WAFA news agency reported.
According to sources from the Palestinian Red Crescent, at least 25 people, including four children, suffered from tear gas exposure during the attack by settlers on the town, WAFA added.
Huwara, in the northern occupied West Bank, has witnessed several fatal Israeli shootings, settlers violence and reprisal attacks by Palestinians.
In august, the United Nations issued a warning about a significant increase in settler attacks targeting Palestinian individuals and property. According to their report, there have been nearly 600 such incidents recorded this year in the West Bank alone.
Late on Thursday, Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian who had opened fire on a car stuck in traffic at a junction adjacent to Huwara, without hitting any of the Israeli civilians inside, the occupation army said.
After midnight, dozens of Israeli civilians gathered in an area of Huwara and engaged in stone-throwing clashes with Palestinians, the army said, before occupation soldiers intervened with "riot dispersal means to defuse the confrontation".
In its statement, the occupation army said a suspect "threw a block at an Israeli vehicle", prompting soldiers to respond with live fire. It added that "a hit was identified".
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it treated 58 people at the scene of the clashes who had suffered from tear gas inhalation.
The military said it had received reports "regarding vandalism of the properties of Palestinian residents of the town by Israeli civilians".
In February, dozens of Israeli settlers set fire to numerous buildings in Huwara after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israelis in the town.
A surge in violence has hit the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
There has been a rise in army raids, Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis and Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property.
So far this year at least 247 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners have been killed in the conflict, including combatants and civilians on both sides, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.
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