An American-Palestinian boy has been shot dead during clashes between Israeli soldiers and stone-throwing protesters in the occupied West Bank, medics and residents said.

Orwah Hammad, 14, was shot in the head on Friday in the village of Silwad, north of the Palestinian seat of government in Ramallah.

An Israeli army spokesman told the Reuters news agency that Israeli forces had prevented an attack: "They encountered a Palestinian man hurling a molotov cocktail... They opened fire and they confirmed a hit."

The US confirmed that Hammad was an American citizen.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called for a "speedy and transparent investigation," adding: "The United States expresses its deepest condolences to the family of a US citizen minor who was killed by the Israeli Defense Forces during clashes in Silwad on October 24."

The Israeli military said it would investigate the shooting.

Hammad was the second teen to be killed by army fire in eight days. A 13-year-old was killed last week in a West Bank village.

There were other clashes in Palestinian areas in and around Jerusalem on Friday in which several people were lightly injured.

Tensions have flared as the Jewish Sukkot holiday has brought increased visits by Jews accompanied by Israeli police to the Jerusalem holy site known to them as Temple Mount and to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary, with its Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
(Al Jazeera)