Palestinian Shot Dead After Stabbing Two Israeli Soldiers In West Bank

A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday after he stabbed and wounded two Israelis, according to local media reports. The incident took place near the Jewish settlement of Maale Levona -- located about 30 miles north of Jerusalem -- on a road linking the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Nablus.

“The two stabbed near Sinjil Junction were IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers. One is critically wounded, the other lightly wounded,” the Israeli army said in a tweet. “Assailant was neutralized.”

The two soldiers have been transferred to a hospital in Jerusalem, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. The identity of the Palestinian attacker has not yet been revealed.

This is the second stabbing attack in the occupied West Bank in less than a week. Last Thursday, an Israeli soldier was reportedly stabbed by a Palestinian man during a security operation near the settlement of Oranit, 45 miles north of Jerusalem. The soldier suffered light wounds and the assailant was arrested.

These incidents come after months of relative calm in the restive regions of the West Bank, which has been on the edge since July. In November, two Palestinians, armed with cleavers and a gun, entered a synagogue in Jerusalem and killed four Jewish worshippers, even as clashes continued in the surrounding towns and cities.

Although tensions on the ground have since defused, the region has been a site of frequent conflagrations over the disputed status of the Al-Aqsa and Temple Mount compound in East Jerusalem as well as over Israel’s settlement policy.