Palestinian Killed by Israeli Forces during West Bank Clashes

Israeli troops carried out an early-morning raid on the home of a Palestinian they claimed was responsible for the car-ramming attack that left a soldier badly injured at a checkpoint close to the city of Modiin on Wednesday.

The 54-year-old man was shot dead at the site of the attack.

The Israeli military claimed in a statement that during the operation in the town of Beit Duqu, northwest of Jerusalem al-Quds, soldiers used riot dispersal tools and fired at Palestinians who were throwing rocks and petrol bombs, adding that "hits were identified."

Israel has stepped up its crackdown across the occupied territories in recent months under different pretexts.

The regime began enforcing the lockdown after reported killing of an Israeli trooper earlier in the month. The sweeping closure has restricted travel in and out of the city for some 200,000 Palestinians.

Since imposing the siege, the forces have been carrying out daily raids throughout the city to hunt down those who were responsible for the reported death on October 11 of the trooper that the regime says was caused by the Lions' Den -- an emerging group of Palestinian resistance fighters.

At least 176 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the illegally occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip since the beginning of the year, including 51 Palestinians who died during Israel’s three-day assault on Gaza in August, according to the Palestinian Authority's health ministry.