An Israeli army jeep struck and killed a 22-year-old Palestinian in the West Bank on Sunday, with the military and locals giving conflicting accounts of the incident that occurred amidst clashes between Palestinian stone throwers and Israeli security forces.

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A military spokeswoman said the jeep, which was in Kfar Malik near Ramallah as part of an operation to arrest suspected militants, accidentally hit the Palestinian after he threw a petrol bomb at it.

A Palestinian throws rocks at military vehicles during previous clashes in the West Bank. (Photo: Ahmed Tala'at)

"The driver was startled and swerved, hitting the man," she said, adding that a military investigation would be launched.

Local resident Nail Abdul Latah el Hajj denied the Palestinian had attacked the jeep, however, saying the man was walking to work at a chicken farm when he was run down on the main street and then crushed as the vehicle crashed into a wall and overturned.

Speaking to Reuters, el Hajj said the man's death sparked confrontations between stone-throwing Palestinian youths and Israeli troops. The military spokeswoman said the disturbances were already under way when the collision happened.

The IDF said Israeli forces later entered the village to try and provide medical assistance to the man, but the Palestinian had already died from his wounds.