Israeli soldier shot dead in occupied West Bank

An Israeli soldier has been shot dead near an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank in an attack claimed by Palestinian fighters, the second deadly assault on occupational forces within days.

The Israeli army said on Tuesday that the soldier, identified as 21-year-old Ido Baroukh, was killed when "two assailants arrived in a vehicle adjacent to the community of Shavei Shomron and shot live fire," referring to an Israeli illegal settlement.

The Den of Lions, a new group led by young fighters from Nablus, claimed responsibility.

"A group of our heroic fighters carried out a qualitative operation," the group said in a statement. "We say to the settlers besieging the city of Nablus from all directions, today we will see who will besiege whom."

The shooting comes three days after an 18-year-old Israeli soldier was shot dead at a checkpoint by the Palestinian refugee camp of Shuafat, in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.

Violence has surged in recent months in the Israel-Palestine conflict, amid near-daily raids in the occupied West Bank and an uptick in attacks on Israeli troops.

More than 100 Palestinian civilians and resistance fighters have been killed during the military raids.

READ MORE: Palestinians in occupied territories face one of deadliest years on record

Call for 'civil disobedience'

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The area is now home to roughly 500,000 illegal Israeli settlers. The international community widely considers the settlements an obstacle to peace.

Since Friday, Israeli forces have shot dead four Palestinian teenagers in the West Bank.

A fifth Palestinian, a 12-year-old boy, died on Monday from wounds sustained last month during an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

In pursuit of Saturday's attacker, Israeli forces shut the entrances to occupied Jerusalem's Shuafat refugee camp and the United Nations said schools there closed on Monday.

Ahmad Tibi, an Arab-Israeli lawmaker, visited the camp on Tuesday and described the "suffering" of residents.

"Sick people are not able to get outside to be treated, bakeries are empty, some physicians and doctors and nurses were not able to get in," he told the AFP news agency.

"In order to get out, you need to wait in your car, three or four hours. This is suffering, this is collective punishment," Tibi added.

Residents of the refugee camp on Tuesday called for "civil disobedience" in protest at the Israeli measures.

READ MORE: Israeli troops kill teens, wound dozens in Palestine's West Bank