The Israeli army shot and killed a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank on Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said. Sixteen-year-old Said Youssef Muhammad Oudeh "succumbed to his grave wounds caused by live bullets" fired by Israeli troops in the northern Odla area near Nablus, the ministry added.

The Palestine Red Crescent confirmed having recovered the body of a young man.

It said another young man was wounded by the shots and had been hospitalised.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army said that Molotov cocktails were thrown at soldiers "during a routine operation south of Nablus".

"The soldiers acted to stop the suspects by opening fire on them," the army said, adding that no soldiers were injured and that the incident would be investigated.

The Israeli army this week launched a massive manhunt in the northern West Bank in search of a Palestinian who on Sunday shot three Israelis, including a 19-year-old who died Wednesday of his wounds, according to Israeli news reports. 

The shooter fled after opening fire at a bus station at the Tapuah junction south of Nablus.

Israeli security forces said a suspect identified as 44-year-old Montasser Shalabi had been arrested Wednesday in the village of Silwad near Ramallah, adding that he was not a member of any "terrorist" organisation.

Palestinian sources said Shalabi is a dual US national.

The Israeli army has occupied the West Bank, a Palestinian territory, since 1967.

About 2.8 million Palestinians live in this territory, as do some 475,000 Israelis living in settlements deemed illegal by international law.