Israeli forces shoot dead Hamas member suspected of killing settler

Israeli forces on Tuesday shot dead a Hamas member suspected of killing an Israeli as two killings of Israeli settlers in a month sparked deadly clashes in the occupied West Bank.

Another Palestinian was killed and several dozen wounded later in clashes with Israeli forces during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The army apparently entered Nablus to search for a Palestinian who had stabbed and killed the second Israeli settler near the major West Bank settlement of Ariel on Monday.

Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral on Tuesday for Itamar Ben Gal, the 29-year-old man killed a day earlier.

A medical source said the Palestinian in Nablus, shot in the chest, was Khaled Tayeh, in his 20s, whose name did not match that of the suspect named by Israeli authorities.

There was no indication of a direct link between Ben Gal's killing and the fatal January 9 shooting of Raziel Shevach.

Shevach's suspected killer, claimed by Hamas as one of its members, was shot dead in a pre-dawn raid hours after Ben Gal's killing.

Violence is common between Palestinians and Israeli settlers and its occupation force in the West Bank.

The Israeli army said it had arrested seven people during the Nablus clashes but had not found the "terrorist" suspected of Ben Gal's killing.

"The security forces will catch whoever tries to attack Israeli citizens and we will deal with them to the fullest extent of the law," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

Both attacks have led to Israeli calls for more illegal settlements in the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation for more than 50 years.

Earlier this week in response to Shevach's killing, Israel's government in a rare move decided to "legalise" the rogue West Bank outpost where he lived, Havat Gilad, essentially creating a new settlement.

There were further calls for more settlement construction at Tuesday's funeral for Ben Gal held at the Har Bracha settlement where he lived, Israeli media reported.

Hamas welcomes attack 

Shevach's suspected killer, 22-year-old Ahmad Jarrar, was killed in the village of Yamoun near Jenin after a weeks-long manhunt.

Dozens of Israeli army jeeps entered the village overnight, prompting clashes with live fire, according to a Palestinians security source.

He was the son of a Hamas figure killed by Israeli forces during the second intifada of the early 2000s.

Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency said that during the attempted arrest, the "terrorist" came out of a building and security forces fired in his direction.

"An M-16 assault rifle and a bag containing explosives were found near his body," it said.

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it was a "Qassam bullet" that killed Shevach, 35, though it was unclear if the Hamas leadership was claiming direct responsibility for the attack or whether the cell acted alone.

Two Palestinians were killed during earlier raids Israeli security services said were launched to find Shevach's killers.

Suspect identified

Monday's stabbing happened near the major Israeli settlement of Ariel. A video published online showed Ben Gal waiting for a bus as the assailant crosses the road and stabs him in the chest.

The assailant was identified in Israeli media as the son of an Arab Israeli woman and a Palestinian father from the West Bank city of Nablus.

Speaking with her identity obscured, his mother told Israel's Channel 10 that she disagreed with his actions and hoped he would turn himself in, but also said she had not seen him for three years.

US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who has been a supporter of illegal settlements in the past, said on Twitter he was praying for Ben Gal's family.

Israeli settlements are seen as illegal under international law and a major obstacle to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Consecutive American administrations have supported Israels illegal settlement activities, contrary to international law. President Donald Trump has been a particularly strong supporter of illegal settlements. 

Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6 was hailed by Israelis, while deeply angering the Palestinians and Muslims world wide who see the city as the third holiest site in Islam. 

Twenty-two Palestinians have been killed since Trump's announcement, most in clashes with Israeli occupying forces. Two Israelis have been killed in that period.