Israeli DM to hold emergency meeting after soldier killed by Palestinian

Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Ya'alon will hold an emergency security cabinet meeting on Monday in the wake of Sunday's shooting attack in Hebron, which killed an Israeli soldier. Sergeant Gal Kobi, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier from the northern city of Tirat Carmel, was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Force said on Sunday. The shooting took place near Hebron's Cave of Patriarchs, a holy prayer site for both Muslims and Jews, and a constant spot of tension between the city's Palestinian residents and the Jewish settlers. Kobi is the second Israeli soldier who was killed during the last three days in a new circle of violence, which cast a shadow on the renewed peace talks. On Saturday, the body of Sgt. Tomer Hazan, another Israeli soldier, was found near the city of Qalqiliya in the northern West Bank. Hazan was abducted and killed on Friday by Nedal Amar, who planned to trade his body for his brother who serves a 30-year sentence for his involvement in attacks against Israeli citizens. A few hours after the shooting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a directive to allow Jewish settlers to return to a disputed house in a Palestinian neighborhood in Hebron, a highly contested move expected to ignite further tension in the volatile West Bank city. Netanyahu's decision was following calls by senior cabinet ministers to halt the negotiations and not to release more Palestinian prisoners as part of the negotiations.