Hawzah News Agency – Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian man on Wednesday morning in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Muhammad Hassan Muhammad Assaf, 34, died from bullet wounds in his chest, the minister added.

Assaf, from the town of Kafr Laqif, in Qalqilya district, was a lawyer in the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission in the the West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service reported 31 more people injured in the Israeli raid, including 10 people hit with live fire.

Israeli officials did not immediately comment but earlier said troops were "conducting counterterrorist operations" in Nablus and other West Bank cities.

The Israeli military has stepped up raids and arrests across the West Bank in recent days after four attacks in Israel in the past three weeks left 14 people dead, including in a shooting rampage last week in the heart of the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv.

Israeli forces have killed 16 Palestinians, including assailants, in the same period, according to an AFP count.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club meanwhile reported 14 new arrests overnight across the West Bank.

Israeli public radio said troops entered Nablus in order to escort Israeli settlers who had entered the city to repair the damage done days ago to Joseph's tomb, a flashpoint site revered by both Muslims and Jews.