Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian teen who army says threw rocks at drivers

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) -A Palestinian teenager was killed by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank after they opened fire on a group of Palestinians throwing rocks at passing drivers, the Israeli army said on Saturday.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the dead boy was 16, and described his killing as an "execution".

The army said a number of Palestinians had endangered civilians driving on a main road near the city of Ramallah by hurling rocks at them, and had refused to comply with instructions to stop.

"Soldiers at the scene operated to stop the suspects in accordance with standard operating procedures, using live fire as a last resort," it added.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Pravin Char and John Stonestreet)