Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank who they said was throwing firebombs at a guard post, but who Palestinian officials say was merely strolling through his village.

The army claimed that troops fired late on Thursday at two Palestinians who were throwing Molotov cocktails at the guard post near the village of Kifl Haris, in the Salfit governorate.

Salfit Gov. Abdallah Kmail said one of the men, 29-year-old Ibrahim Abu Yakoub, was killed and the other was wounded in the leg and taken to a hospital.

He said the two were walking through the village when the "Israeli troops opened fire for no reason".

Tensions have been high in the West Bank in recent weeks as Israel has vowed to proceed with plans to annex up to 30 per cent of the occupied territory in line with United States President Donald Trump's Middle East initiative, which was rejected by the Palestinians.