Palestinian gunmen kill Israeli in West Bank: army

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian gunmen shot dead an Israeli driving his car in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the army said, calling it a "terror act."

The military said Meir Avshalom Hai, a father of seven, was killed when his car came under fire, either by a passing car or a roadside ambush, near the city of Nablus.

Colonel Avi Gil, brigade commander in the area, called the attack a "terror act" and said Israeli forces were searching the area for the gunmen.

Gil said the military had been removing checkpoints from West Bank roads to ease travel restrictions on Palestinians, but would consider putting new ones in place if they would prevent similar attacks in the future.

He said there had been 11 other shooting attacks in 2009 in the West Bank.

Reports from rescue services said the driver, traveling alone outside the Jewish settlement of Einav, was shot in the head and his car flipped over.

Palestinian witnesses said they had heard gunfire in the area. The Israeli military set up roadblocks outside the nearby Palestinian city of Tulkarm, witnesses said.

(Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Andrew Roche)