ETHNIC CLEANSING

Israeli forces kill Palestinian youth in West Bank clashes, medics say

JERUSALEM, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Israeli forces killed a Palestinian youth in predawn clashes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday, Palestinian medics said.

At least 30 Palestinians were wounded, four of whom were shot with live ammunition and three of whom were in critical condition, the Palestine Red Crescent said.

Palestinian medics identified the man who was killed as Waseem Khalifa, 18, from Balata, the largest refugee camp in the West Bank.

Witnesses said clashes erupted when Israeli forces arrived to protect Jewish worshippers visiting Joseph's Tomb, a site that has been a flashpoint.

The Israeli military told Reuters it was checking on the incident.

According to Israeli media, armed Palestinians exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers around the site. No Israeli casualties were reported.

Last week, three Palestinian gunmen were killed in a shootout with Israeli forces in the northern city of Nablus. It was the deadliest incident in the West Bank since Israel and the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad ended three days of fighting in Gaza, the worst in more than a year.

Israeli jets pounded the Gaza Strip in what the military said was a pre-emptive attack aimed at preventing an imminent threat to Israel.

At least 49 people were killed in Gaza, including civilians and children, and hundreds more were wounded during 56 hours of fighting, which also saw more than 1,000 rockets launched towards Israel by the Islamic Jihad.

Israeli forces have carried out near-daily raids in the West Bank in recent months after men from the area carried out deadly street attacks in Israel.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Additional reporting and writing by Henriette Chacar; Editing by Gerry Doyle)