Hashash's family told local media the Israeli army had been trying to arrest him for a long time [File: Hazem Bader/AFP]

Ramallah, January 6 (RHC)-- A Palestinian man has been shot dead by Israeli forces during a confrontation that followed an army raid on Balata refugee camp near the northern city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the man as 21-year-old Bakeer Mohammad Hashash and said he was shot dead at dawn on Thursday with a bullet to his head.

Hashash’s family told local media that the Israeli army had been trying to arrest him for a long time.
In a video interview, Hashash’s mother said he left home fearing arrest when he heard about the army’s raid on the camp.  His brother was quoted by local media as saying that Hashash was in a confrontation with the Israeli forces before he was shot dead.

A protest ensued in the Balata refugee camp – the largest in the occupied West Bank – following the killing.

The Israeli military conducts such raids in the occupied West Bank on a near-daily basis, including in areas under the control of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognised entity that has limited autonomy in city centres.

At least 21 Palestinians were arrested in overnight raids on Thursday across various cities and villages in the occupied West Bank, including eight from the village of Deir Nitham, west of Ramallah.