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— NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli troops shot dead a 17-year-old Palestinian during a clash with stone throwers in the West Bank town of Nablus on Saturday, Palestinian witnesses said.

The witnesses said the Israeli soldiers opened fire when their armored vehicles were stoned in a refugee camp in Nablus and Muhammed Darwish, 17, was fatally shot in the chest. A 21-year-old Palestinian was seriously wounded, they added.

Israeli army sources said troops opened fire in the refugee camp after a Palestinian threw a petrol bomb at a military vehicle but could not confirm they hit anyone.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has continued sporadically since the start of the Iraq war despite Washington's appeal for calm after 30 months of conflict.

On Thursday, two Palestinian policemen were killed by an Israeli helicopter gunship strike in the Gaza Strip, and on Friday a Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Tulkarm.

Troops reoccupied Nablus and most other major West Bank towns following suicide bombings in Israel last summer.

At least 1,957 Palestinians and 727 Israelis have been killed since a Palestinian uprising for independence began in September 2000.

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