Israeli man killed in West Bank - police

JERUSALEM, Feb 19 (Reuters) An Israeli civilian truck driver was killed inside a Palestinian village in the West Bank today, a police spokesmen said.

Israeli media said security forces found the man lying dead with his throat slit outside the vehicle, which was parked with its engine running in the Palestinian village of Shukba.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing.

''An Israeli was found murdered in the village of Shukba,'' police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. ''The police have opened an investigation. It is unclear if the motive was political or criminal.'' Rosenfeld said further details of the incident could not be published until security forces completed their investigation.

An army spokesman would say only that the man was a civilian and that he was found dead in the area.

An Israeli was last killed by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in August, when a soldier was shot dead at a military checkpoint.

REUTERS AKJ PM1852