A young Palestinian was killed by Israeli occupation forces in clashes before dawn on Thursday in the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, according to paramedics.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said that at least 30 Palestinians were injured, four of them by live bullets and three in critical condition.

Palestinian paramedics reported that the young man who was killed was Wasim Khalifa (18 years old) from Balata camp, the largest refugee camp in the West Bank.

Witnesses said that the clashes erupted when Israeli occupation forces arrived to protect Jewish worshippers visiting the Tomb of Joseph area, which is a hotspot of tension.

Israeli media said that Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers around the site. There were no reports of Israeli casualties.

Three Palestinian gunmen were killed last week in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces in the city of Nablus. This was the deadliest incident in the West Bank since Israeli occupation forces and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement ended three days of fighting in Gaza, the worst in more than a year.

Israeli occupation planes bombed the Gaza Strip in what the army described as a preemptive attack aimed at preventing an imminent threat to Israel.

At least 49 people were killed in Gaza, including civilians and children, and hundreds more were injured during 56 hours of fighting, which also saw the Islamic Jihad movement launch more than 1000 rockets towards the occupied territories.

Israeli occupation forces have carried out almost daily raids in the West Bank in recent months after men from the area carried out attacks in the streets of the occupied territories.