An Israeli couple have been shot dead while driving through the occupied West Bank.

Israeli security forces are searching the area for the attacker, according to an Israeli military statement.

The two were killed between the Jewish settlements of Itamar and Eilon Moreh, near the Palestinian city of Nablus, when their car came under fire, the military said.

The rescue service ZAKA said four of their children were in the car but were unharmed.

The attack came after court documents showed Israel was considering authorising wildcat settlement outposts in the West Bank near a village where a firebombing killed an 18-month-old Palestinian boy and his parents.

It also came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered in a speech at the UN General Assembly to resume direct talks with the Palestinians.

The premier said he was prepared to "immediately resume direct peace negotiations" without preconditions, although the Palestinians condition a resumption of dialogue on an end to settlement building and the release of prisoners.

On Wednesday, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told the Assembly Israel's refusal to release prisoners and stop settlement activity meant the Palestinians could not be bound by past agreements between the two sides.