Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian and wounded another early on Thursday near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian emergency services reported.

Aziz Beerat, 20, was killed when Israeli soldiers in a jeep opened fire in the village of Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah, the sources said.

Another man, who was not named, was shot in the back and taken to hospital, where his condition was listed as serious.

Beerat was the third Palestinian killed by Israeli forces in three days.

Abdel Kader Zeid, 17, died after being shot outside the Jewish settlement of Beit-El late on Tuesday, medics said. The army said soldiers had opened fire at a man who was brandishing a petrol bomb.

On Wednesday, troops shot and seriously wounded Mohammed al-Ramahi, 21, during clashes following Zeid’s funeral near the Jalazun refugee camp, Ramallah hospital officials and witnesses said.

An army spokesman said dozens of Palestinians rioted near an army post, hurling rocks and burning tires.

At least 537 people have been killed since Israel and the Palestinians formally re-launched U.S.-backed peace talks in November, the vast majority of them Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip, according to an AFP count.

(AFP via Alarabiya.net)