Three Palestinian were shot dead after they fired at Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank near Nablus, the Israeli army said on Sunday, as violence in the region continued.

The military said that "armed gunmen opened fire" on soldiers at an army position near the Jit junction west of Nablus, with the soldiers responding with "live fire".

"Three armed gunmen were neutralised during the exchange of fire and an additional armed gunman surrendered himself to the forces and was apprehended," the army said in a statement.

Violence intensified last year but has worsened in the West Bank since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office in December in a governing coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right allies.

Since the start of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 81 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians.

Twelve Israeli civilians, including three children, and one policeman, as well as one Ukrainian civilian have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.