JERUSALEM - Israeli forces killed an 18-year-old Palestinian man in dawn raids on Tuesday in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Palestinian hospital sources said, as violence in the Israeli occupied territory simmers.

       The Israeli military said it responded with live fire to suspects who threw rocks at soldiers in Ramallah who were demolishing houses of militants responsible for a deadly shooting attack in January.

       Violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was already on the rise before the war in Gaza erupted, but it has since escalated, with stepped-up Israeli military raids, settler violence and Palestinian street attacks.

       Israeli forces have killed at least 620 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the start of the Gaza war, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures. Many have been armed fighters belonging to militant groups but others have been stone-throwing youths or uninvolved civilians.

       At least 30 Israelis, civilians and soldiers, have been killed by Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank since the Gaza war started, Israeli figures show. REUTERS