Bethlehem - Israeli soldiers on Thursday shot dead a 17-year-old Palestinian student and wounded three others in the West Bank, witnesses and medical sources said.

They said Israeli army patrols opened fire at school students in a village south of Bethlehem. One student died on arrival at a local clinic.

Witnesses said the killing was unprovoked as no clashes had taken place in the area, but an Israeli army spokesperson said soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets during clashes and had no knowledge anyone was killed.

"There were very violent riots. The Palestinians threw rocks and bottles at soldiers and motorists driving by. The soldiers used riot control means only. They fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the lower parts of the body," a spokesman said.

The death raised to at least 286 the number of people, mostly Palestinians, killed in a two-month-old uprising against Israeli occupation. - Reuters