ISRAELI troops killed another Palestinian man today in their latest act of violence in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said that Ayed Samih Abu Harb had died in the Nour Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank from a bullet wound to the head. 

Resistance group Palestinian Islamic Jihad later claimed him as a member.

A video of the incident released by the Israeli military appears to show a massive fireball erupting from a building. Another video, recorded by an amateur, seems to capture an explosion under an Israeli military bulldozer.

Israeli authorities said they had destroyed an explosives stockpile during the operation and returned fire after coming under attack.

Such raids by Israeli occupation forces were stepped up early last year, fuelling tensions in the region and ushering in some of the worst Israeli violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since the last Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s.

Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina urged the United States to put pressure on its long-standing ally to halt the violence.

In a statement, Mr Rudeina said the White House should not limit itself “to a policy of statements that changes nothing on the ground.” 

He also criticised the continuing Israeli militaray incursions into West Bank cities and towns.

This strategy leads the area “to a dangerous dead end,” the Palestinian spokesman warned.

Mr Rudeina also condemned continuing attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian civilians and the complicity of the army in such violence.

He vowed that, despite the pressure, “we will not give up and will continue the fight.”

Mr Rudeina also warned that peace and security would only be achieved if the Palestinian people obtained their legitimate rights.

More than 180 Palestinians have been killed in the latest upsurge of violence, nearly half of them affiliated with groups resisting the occupation.

In addition, the United Nations Human Rights Council says that there are about 5,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, including 160 children. Some 1,100 have been detained without charge or trial. 

Israel claims most of those killed were militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting at the incursions as well as people not involved in the confrontations have also been shot dead by troops.

Tel Aviv insists that the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks, but Palestinians say that they entrench Israeli control over the West Bank.