The Palestinian was killed as troops stormed an area between the West Bank villages of Bilin and Kufr Ne'meh, 10 kilometers (six miles) northwest of Ramallah, sparking a gunfight which ended at a cave, local Palestinian witnesses and medics said on Tuesday.

The Tel Aviv regime’s military spokesman Avichay Adraee confirmed the incident, naming the dead man as Mohammed Assi.

In a separate Tweet, the army's official spokesman Peter Lerner described him as the "planner" of the 2012 bombing of a Tel Aviv bus.

Islamic Jihad confirmed Assi was one of its members in a statement on its website and said that he was "assassinated by the occupation in Kufr Ne'meh."

Local witnesses told AFP the incident began at 5:00 am (0200 GMT) when Israeli troops entered Bilin then moved into an area between the village and nearby Kufr Ne'meh, sparking gunfire.

Troops surrounded a cave in the area and bulldozed it, a Palestinian medic at the scene said.

Local witnesses confirmed troops were hunting for Assi, saying he was a wanted Islamic Jihad activist.
The Tel Aviv bombing took place on November 21 on a bus near the Defense Ministry.

The attack came as Israel was engaged in major airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that ended with a mutual ceasefire several hours later.

BA/BA