A new video released by a Palestinian activist group apparently shows Israeli troops planting a knife next to a slain teenager in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the occupied West Bank, bringing into question Israeli claims that the teen was killed for trying to stab a settler.

The footage released by Youth Against Settlements on Saturday appears to show an Israeli trooper handing over an object to another of the forces who then bends and throws it next to the body of a person lying on a street in al-Khalil.

The 18-year-old slain Palestinian teen, identified as Fadil Qawasm, was shot dead by a settler earlier in the day. The settler with his gun in hands can be seen at the scene when the Israeli troops surround the body of the Palestinian.

The widely-circulated footage has raised suspicions that the Israeli troops had planted a knife next to the teen’s body to justify his killing.

The shooting took place in central al-Khali’s Shuhada Street in al-Khalil’s Old City, where Israeli forces have restricted Palestinians’ access.

According to Palestinian news agency Ma’an, any Palestinian trying to access the street must “pass through an Israeli military checkpoint with a metal detector.” This has raised further questions among the locals “as to whether Qawasmi could have been carrying a knife at the time of the alleged attack.”

Meanwhile, Israeli troops also reportedly refused access to the body by paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent. The Israeli troops then covered the young man’s face and took him in an ambulance to an “unknown destination.”

Israeli military claimed that Qawasmi was killed as he attempted to stab the settler. Such a claim is leveled against Palestinians who have been killed in a fresh wave of violence in the occupied territories over the past two weeks.

Meanwhile, the military sources said they have launched an investigation into the incident after seeing the footage. Other reports, however, said that Israeli forces have detained Ahmad Amr, who serves as the media coordinator for Youth Against Settlements, as well as a Palestinian who witnessed the shooting.

An Israeli guard walks past the body of a Palestinian man who was killed in the East al-Quds (Jerusalem) illegal settlement of Armon Hanatsiv, adjacent to the Palestinian neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber, on October 17, 2015. (AFP Photo

More than 40 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds injured since Israel began a harsh crackdown in early October on the Palestinians enraged by the settler violence and a plan by Israelis to change the status quo of the al-Aqsa Mosque, a holy site revered by all Muslims around the world.

In the latest incident on Saturday, a Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces after allegedly stabbing and wounding a soldier at Qalandia checkpoint near the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. At least three Palestinians across the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) were shot dead under similar pretexts earlier in the day.

Baghdad (AFP) - Iraqi forces said Wednesday they found 19 different mass graves containing the bodies of 365 fighters from the Islamic State group in the reconquered town of Baiji.

An army officer confirmed a large number of IS bodies had been discovered in mass graves, but could not say how many and mentioned that some had also been found in another neighbourhood.

In a statement, the security forces said that "the total number of graves discovered by the heroes of the Popular Mobilisation is 19".

It said the mass graves were found in the Asri neighbourhood of Baiji, 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Baghdad, and contained a total of "365 bodies of Daesh terrorists".

Daesh is an Arab acronym for IS.

It was not clear how long the bodies had been buried there nor how all of them were identified as fighters.

Baiji and its nearby refinery -- once the country's largest but now extensively destroyed -- has been the scene of almost uninterrupted fighting in the past 16 months.

Iraqi forces led by the Popular Mobilisation, an umbrella group dominated by Tehran-backed Shiite militias, have fully retaken the area in recent days.

Some key flashpoints in the area changed hands many times since IS launched a sweeping offensive across Iraq in June 2014 but the broad operation launched about 10 days ago appears to have secured victory for the security forces.

Jerusalem (AFP) - Two alleged Palestinian attackers were shot west of Jerusalem on Thursday after attempting to board a bus carrying children then stabbing an Israeli, police said.

One of the alleged attackers was killed, while the second was in critical condition.

The two men were blocked from entering the bus in Beit Shemesh by the driver and others. They then stabbed and moderately wounded a 25-year-old Israeli man near the bus station, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Police did not provide further details on the bus, including whether it was a school bus.

They said the assailants were wearing t-shirts bearing the symbol of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Islamist movement Hamas.

Beit Shemesh, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of Jerusalem, is a predominantly Orthodox Jewish city.

The attack is the latest in a series of stabbings -- mostly by young Palestinians -- against soldiers, police or Israeli civilians.

Since October 1, at least 49 Palestinians and one Israeli Arab have been killed, including alleged attackers. Eight Israelis have been killed in attacks.

One Israeli Jew and one Eritrean have also been killed after being mistaken for attackers.

Violent protests have erupted across the Palestinian territories, sparking fears of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising.

Nine Palestinians were wounded, including five from live fire, during clashes with Israeli soldiers in and around the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron on Wednesday night, Palestinian police said.